The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

Sabah’s quiz show coach, Andorra’s league phase debut & Crete’s decade-long odyssey

There are some simply sensational stories to be told about the 108 league phase participants in the three UEFA club competitions this season. For example, it’s not every

JDT’s world-record unbeaten run, the DFB-Pokal’s smallest-ever village & the UECACAF Nations League

There’s totally dominating a league – and then there’s Johor Darul Ta’zim! The Malaysians have won the last 12 Super Leagues, the joint-longest active title-winning run i

Mexico’s secret CONMEBOL deal, Malawi’s condom sponsors & Ireland’s brand-new third tier

Mexico broke ranks with the rest of CONCACAF over Gianni Infantino’s botched plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup. Now there are reports the Mexican Football Federat

Miquelon’s Coupe de France debut, Greenland’s chaotic championship & Guinea-Bissau’s presidential escape

The Coupe de France is the most international national cup competition in the world, with overseas territories located in every continent bar Asia taking part. The first

Infantino's Icarus moment, Montenegro’s continental calamity & Colombia’s cold-blooded reserves

Football never stops. Only nine days after the World Cup final, the news was leaked that FIFA were looking to sell a stake in the tournament, sparking a furious backlash

World Cup 2026: Cape Verde’s tourism boost, Paraguay’s rags to riches keeper & an England fan manhunt

The 2026 World Cup continues to produce breathtaking matches – arguably none more so than debutants Cape Verde versus world champions Argentina. With players who once wo

World Cup 2026: Cape Verde’s Messi meeting, Doctor Congo in dreamland & the Habsburg Derby

The 2026 World Cup group-stage is over – and we’re already under way with the knockout phase of the tournament! Among the teams in the last 32 are seven knockout debutan

World Cup 2026: The Gijón grudge match, a Dutch royal groundhop & Hervé Renard’s crisp white shirts

It has been another scintillating week of action at the 2026 World Cup, where the final round of group games is about to get under way. Algeria are preparing to exact re

World Cup 2026: Balogun’s curious US citizenship, Peru’s mascot drug raid & Algeria’s sleep tax

The 2026 World Cup is already producing crazy quirks and hilarious headlines – with the co-host trio of Canada, Mexico and the USA leading the way. The USMNT have a sta

Uzbekistan: The World Cup's nearly men no more

Uzbekistan are on the cusp of making their long-awaited World Cup bow. With former Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro at the helm, the former Soviet republic is about

Jordan: The World Cup captain who defied his coach

Jordan are at the World Cup finals for the first time ever! Led by coach Jamal Sellami in the dugout and captain Musa Al-Taamari on the pitch – who do not appear to agre

Curaçao: The World Cup squad with only ONE local player

Debutants Curacao are about to break an all-time World Cup record. Spearheaded by veteran coach Dick Advocaat – soon to be the oldest coach in the tournament’s history –

Cape Verde: The World Cup player recruited by LinkedIn DM

Cape Verde are days away from making their World Cup debut. With a head coach nicknamed after the island of his birth and only seven full-time staff members, the tiny Af

Andorran adventures: Cross border clubs, squirrel costumes & micro-state uproar

We have come to a tiny landlocked country where nine out of 10 footballers are foreigners. Welcome to beautiful Andorra – a micro-state home to a football scene brimming

Al Hilal's African odyssey, Brazil's first indigenous pro club & a 42-second Dutch replay

How has an exiled football club won league titles in three countries in the space of 12 months? In this episode, we tell the extraordinary story of Sudan’s Al Hilal Omdu

The death of relegation in Mexico – Plus Racing’s roadside celebrations in Uruguay & San Marino Calcio’s angry letter

Mexico’s Liga MX wants to copy the MLS model! The 18 club owners have voted to separate the league from the federation, move towards a franchise model, and permanently a

FC Thun's impossible fairytale 2: Road workers, Alpine dips & a football thesis

FC Thun midfielder Ethan Meichtry was a road worker three years ago. Now he’s a Swiss Super League winner. His story perfectly encapsulates the improbable rise of the cl

Red Bull’s Italian expansion plans – Plus Bursaspor’s Turkish football completion & Den Bosch’s promotion dilemma

Red Bull are finally coming for Italian football! The energy drinks giant, which already majority-owns football clubs in Austria, Germany, America, Brazil and Japan, rep

Shakhtar Donetsk's imposter club – Plus Heidelberg’s Asian aspirations & Montserrat’s Facebook coach ad

Shakhtar Donetsk are a Ukrainian football club – but Russia are trying to change that by founding Shakhtyor Donetsk! As part of their efforts to integrate occupied Ukrai

FC Thun's impossible fairytale 1: Fires, fans & amateur football

A newly-promoted club are on the verge of the impossible. If tiny FC Thun can get just a few more points on the board, they will win the Swiss Super League and claim the