The final Sweeper episode of 2023 starts off with a look at continental competitions across the world in Part 1. We talk about the CONCACAF Champions Cup with its incredible away trips and interesting array of clubs – from Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami to Robinhood of Suriname, who have won a Caribbean double this year – and the AFC Champions League, where Ventforet Kofu of Japan have sensationally become the first second-division club to ever reach the knockout stages.

Part 2 kicks off with a chat about Welsh club Pontypridd United’s unprecedented 141-point deduction and the heaviest punishments in football history, before taking a look at Ajax’s historic elimination from the KNVB Cup at the hands of fourth-tier amateurs Hercules. Finally, we finish off the segment by talking about the biggest cupsets we have seen personally – Bristol City for Paul & FC Vaduz for Lee – and our brilliant sponsor Momento. You can download the Momento app for free via the link below and follow us @SweeperPod.

It’s all about winter weather in Part 3. The first item on the agenda is Greenland’s traditional New Year’s Eve football match, which is played in temperatures of -15 degrees, followed by the unique story of FC Santa Claus, the Christmas-themed club based in Lapland whose motto is ‘Don’t stop believing’. Finally, there’s yet another mention for Sicilians Trapani and a thank-you message from the team to all the lovely listeners and patrons who have joined the Sweeper party since we relaunched the podcast in early 2023.

Download Momento for free on iOS and Android: ⁠acmomento.onelink.me/ckkf/SweeperPod

RUNNING ORDER:

Part 1: The CONCACAF Champions Cup, Robinhood’s Caribbean double & Ventforet Kofu’s run to the knockouts (00:40)

Part 2: Pontypridd United’s 141-point deduction, a Herculean effort against Ajax & our biggest cupsets (17:29)

Part 3: Greenland’s New Year’s Eve football match, the Christmas-themed club in Lapland & some windy weather in Sicily (36:07)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.