The Sweeper

In Part 1, we round up all the latest highlights from the UEFA club competition qualifying rounds. We talk about two villages of under 1,000 people in the Faroes & San Marino that claimed big European wins, the Slovenian keeper that went on a René Higuita-style dribble against Connah’s Quay Nomads of Wales and FC Copenhagen’s upcoming trip to face ‘pub team’ Bruno’s Magpies at a stadium overlooking the African coastline. That is followed in Part 2 by an announcement about a change to the podcast, which will return to its previously fortnightly rhythm. We then round off the episode by talking about the ‘Pariah Derby’ between the North Korean and Russian women’s teams and turn our attentions to pre-season friendlies: the pitch invaders at Rapid Vienna vs. AC Milan, Augsburg’s immigration disaster and a playground-style switch in Heilbronn. If you don’t want to wait until Wednesday 7 August for our next podcast, then join us on Patreon for our bonus podcasts. In the episode on Wednesday 31 July, we will examine the intriguing back stories of three promoted clubs from Eastern Europe, take a look at the Coupe de France action in St. Pierre & Miquelon and discuss the upcoming Milne Cup between Orkney & the Shetland Islands in Scotland. You can sign up at patreon.com/SweeperPod. RUNNING ORDER:00:00 - Intro00:38 - Victorious villages04:52 - 27th time lucky for La Fiorita11:38 - The NK Bravo keeper on the run 13:41 - Icelandic accumulator threats15:19 - Pub team with a view of Africa21:31 - Podcast frequency announcement23:52 - North Korea's 'Pariah Derby'29:22 - Rapid vs. Milan & pre-season friendlies Video of the NK Bravo goalkeeper on a run: x.com/FootballBurp/status/1814063958224978365 Editor: Ralph Foster Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 is dedicated to the best part of the European football calendar: the UEFA club competition qualifying rounds. We chat about the Gibraltarian pub team that claimed a win in the Conference League, the victorious Polish and Romanian teams in the Europa League and the part-timers from the Faroe Islands excelling in the Champions League. In Part 2, we bring you a random mix of stories from across the football world: Paul has been offered a coaching job on a mystery island in the South Pacific, Thimphu City of Bhutan have come up with a great initiative to protect the white-bellied heron and The Sweeper has sponsored a football team for the first time at the Icarus Cup in the USA. Join us for Part 3 over on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod to hear about the Brazilian policeman who fired a rubber bullet at a goalkeeper, an Anguillan side that allows their supporters a top-flight run-out and the Icelandic footballer presented with a bottle of champagne by a Fantasy Football Winner. RUNNING ORDER: 00:00 - Intro00:40 - EURO 2024 disappointment02:44 - Second-tier Corvinul's quirky situation09:39 - UEFA win for pub team Bruno's Magpies13:10 - San Marino, Wales & the Faroe Islands19:38 - A mystery island coaching job for Paul23:46 - Thimphu City's white-bellied heron initiative30:50 - The first Sweeper-sponsored football team Buy your Sweeper-sponsored football shirt from the Icarus Cup: https://icarusfc.com/products/malmo?_pos=1&_psq=malmo&_ss=e&_v=1.0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 is dedicated to the overachieving underdogs at the continental competitions taking place this summer: Canada at the Copa América, Vanuatu at the OFC Nations Cup and Georgia at the EUROs. Meanwhile, in Part 2, there is a rare move to a European club for an Eritrean player and an ex-Gibraltar international is jailed for drug dealing. Join us for Part 3 at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we round up some headlines from the home nations and bring you some spectacular transfer fails too.RUNNING ORDER:Intro - 00:00Canada at the Copa América - 00:59Vanuatu at the OFC Nations Cup - 07:58Georgia at the EUROs - 14:36Listener mails - 20:30A rare Eritrean transfer to Europe - 24:02Ex-Gibraltar international jailed - 28:13 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The podcast covers a trivia quiz on UEFA qualifiers with funny back stories, Marshall Islands' debut international match in Futsal, and a delayed friendly between Erzgebirge Aue and Glenavon. It also explores unlikely fan friendships in football, UEFA Regions Cup, and Patreon perks.

Chaos at the OFC Nations Cup, dramatic promotions in Spanish football, footballer Diego Forlán's tennis success, mix-up in scouts at Bodø/Glimt, and behind-the-scenes look at podcast production process

Discover the amusing Euro 2024 insights like national dishes and sexy coaches. Uncover tattoo mishaps in Portugal, university upsets in Japan, and Icelandic dreams. Delve into Bolivian wonderkid struggles, emotional Sudan unity, and Hassan Sunny's plea to Chinese fans.

EURO 2024 is just around the corner and we have put the tournament under the spotlight in typically Sweeper style in Part 1. How did Austria’s Maximilian Entrup go from a third-tier amateur/PE teacher to a place at EURO 2024 in the space of a year? Does Georgia’s Budu Zivzivadze harbour any regrets about choosing football over chess? Who is the only player at the tournament currently on the books of a third-tier European club? And where does Latvia’s 0-0 draw with Germany in 2004 rank among the all-time biggest EURO shocks? Part 2 is dedicated to the rest of the international football news. Was San Marino’s recent friendly against Slovakia at a stadium with a water slide behind the main stand in Austria's ugliest town our most random live game to date? Why have FIFA ruled that AFCON top scorer Emilio Nsue has actually been ineligible to play for Equatorial Guinea over the past 11 years? And why did everyone think that Syria had beaten North Korea 1-0 when it was actually the other way around? You can join us for Part 3 over on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we reflect on some international news from the Caribbean and a selection of other stories. What did the Cayman Islands players fear they might lose ahead of their recent World Cup qualifying trip to Cuba? Why did Bonaire contest a recent friendly against a ninth-tier team from the Netherlands? And why has Spanish goalkeeper Miguel Guerreiro given up on his Only Fans dream and made a return to football with Velez in the fourth tier? RUNNING ORDER00:00 – Intro01:05 – EURO 2024 alternative career paths09:28 – EURO 2024 players outside the top tier14:17 – EURO 2024 underdogs & outsiders21:20 – Mystery shirt guessing game24:36 – San Marino’s water slide away day33:46 – Emilio Nsue’s Equatoguinean ineligibility39:02 – North Korea’s secret Syria score Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 contains an international round-up of European minnows inside and outside of UEFA. In which version of football has Gibraltar become a European champion? Why has Corsica recently hosted their counterparts from Sardinia, Sicily & St. Martin? Will we watch San Marino vs. Slovakia from the top of a water slide? And which football stadium straddles an EU/non-EU border?Up next in Part 2 are a series of records and achievements from across the football world. What remarkable feat did Attack Energy Herat accomplish en route to winning the Afghan Super League? Why did a goalkeeper recently take three penalties in Israel? And is Turkmenistan's dictator partly responsible for the longest winning run in football history?Join us for Part 3 on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod as we look at Pas de la Casa's run to the Andorran Cup final without winning a game, hear about the world's ugliest building in the Kosovan capital Pristina, play a UEFA Conference League-themed game of 'Pointless' and discuss the collapse of a goal frame in the USA. RUNNING ORDER:00:00 - Intro01:10 - Gibraltar's walking football triumph06:20 - The return of the Corsica Cup15:03 - San Marino vs. Slovakia & quirky football grounds21:54 - Attack Energy Herat's perfect Afghan season24:56 - A 22nd consecutive Bosnian title for SFK 200026:54 - The longest penalty shootout ever in Israel29:06 - Ascent Soccer U21s' remarkable feat in Malawi32:36 - 47 straight wins for Arkadag in TurkmenistanVIDEO: The annual All-Priests Over 75s Five-a-Side Football Challenge Match from Father Ted: https://bit.ly/FatherTedVideoVIDEO: The longest penalty shootout in football history in Israel: https://bit.ly/IsraelPenaltyShootoutVideo Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 brings you a full round-up of all the news from the Benelux countries. What controversial actions recently earned a Dutch referee a lifelong ban from football? Why are two storied Belgian clubs facing an existential threat? And what strange series of events could lead to European football being played on a Luxembourgish campsite this summer?Next up in Part 2 is a round-up of all the action from the rest of Europe. How have Sturm Graz finally managed to dethrone Red Bull Salzburg and does it mark a turning point for Austrian football? How did a marriage proposal mentally unsettle a goalkeeper in the Albanian Cup final? And why have Finnish club SJK Seinäjoki started giving away free sausages to fans?Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod for Part 3 to find out how Baltika have managed to reach the Russian Cup final despite already being eliminated, why Poland wins our award for the most unpredictable country in Europe in the 2023/24 season and how a raccoon managed to evade capture for 161 seconds in a recent MLS fixture.RUNNING ORDER:00:00 - Intro00:58 - The Dutch referee who celebrated10:00 - The two Belgian clubs on the brink15:08 - Surprises and campsites in Luxembourg20:40 - Party time for Sturm Graz in Austria33:11 - Egnatia's Albanian double bid & a proposal38:02 - Free sausages at SJK Seinäjoki in Finland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 of the latest Sweeper sees Lee & Paul profile three clubs from around the football world: Italians Como, Australia’s Central Coast Mariners & Petrocub of Moldova. Join us to find out where Italy’s richest club might be playing their Serie A home games next term, why the Central Coast Mariners have flown 100,000km in economy class this season and how a Ghanaian takeover has propelled Petrocub to Super Liga success.In Part 2, the team swap the serious journalism for a selection of silly stories. Why did a Dinamo Bucharest player refuse to show the club his driving license? What outlandish claim did the Lion City Sailors social media admin recently make on Twitter? Why has an untimely toilet break in the Swedish fifth tier prompted furious calls for a replay? And what led a club doctor in Brazil to take over the coaching reins at half-time in a recent game?The bonus segment includes Lee’s desperate attempt to zoom across Austria on Sunday morning in the hope of seeing Sturm Graz lift the Bundesliga, a story from Paul about an unusual Italian football auction & the tale of the Vatican team docked points for guarding the Pope. You can join us for that and plenty more benefits besides at patreon.com/SweeperPod. Your support is appreciated and all proceeds are reinvested into the podcast.RUNNING ORDER:00:00 - Intro01:05 - Como's meteoric rise07:15 - Central Coast Mariners' Asian odyssey13:40 - Petrocub's first-ever title20:06 - Romania's twin identity saga23:45 - A social media slip-up in Singapore26:57 - Sweden's controversial 'toilet goal'30:24 - Brazil's club doctor turned head coach32:43 - The Thimphu City competition draw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.