The Sweeper

First up on this episode of The Sweeper, we delve deeper into North Korea’s mysterious cancellation of their World Cup qualifier against Japan and look back at memorable moments in the hermit kingdom’s football history. Then we’re off to Georgia to hear about the nation’s maiden qualification for a major tournament, before we chat through Austria's Rangnick resurgence as they shape up to be EURO 2024 dark horses.

After the break it’s time to show some love for groundhoppers and to hear some amazing stories from our patrons in pursuit of the joy of ticking off new stadiums. Then we announce an exciting new competition from Thimphu City and shirt manufacturer Icarus that will see someone win a trip of a lifetime to Bhutan, plus there's a San Marino shirt giveaway too!

To hear the bonus segment of this podcast where we chat about Estonia’s U21 side playing a friendly against the wrong team, a Romanian player who was sacked for turning up to training drunk and then appointed sporting director, and a Bosnian giant in decline, join us at patreon.com/sweeperpod.

RUNNING ORDER:

00:00 Intro

01:15 North Korea's mysterious no-show

08:33 Georgia's EURO jubilation

11:57 Austria's Rangnick resurgence

16:22 Glorious groundhoppers

33:25 Thimphu City/Icarus competition

38:29 San Marino shirt giveaway

Browse the Icarus website: icarusfc.com

Read the Thimphu City-Icarus competition details: icarusfc.com/pages/thimphu-city-sweepstakes

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Located at the intersection of Europe and North America, Greenland boasts the unique selling point of having the shortest season in world football - at one week long. The first part of the latest episode of 'The Sweeper' sees presenter Lee Wingate talk all about the 2023 Greenlandic Football Championship with co-host Paul Watson, who reflects on his own journey to Nuuk seven summers ago.

Part 2 kicks off with a shout-out for KÍ Klaksvík & Zrinjski Mostar, the first-ever clubs from the Faroe Islands and Bosnia & Herzegovina to reach a European group phase. We talk about the KÍ player selling frozen pizzas, the prize money that comes with qualification and also speak about Raków's insane rise from the Polish third division to the brink of the Champions League in the space of a few years.

Finally, in Part 3, it's time for some silly refereeing stories, starting in Latvia with the drunk refs whose dodgy decisions saw them breathalysed by police and finishing with the Fred Perry polo shirt-wearing fan who stepped in to run the line in Portsmouth's match against Cheltenham. There's also a look at the revolt against Samuel Eto'o in Cameroon & a plug for our brilliant bonus episodes.

RUNNING ORDER:

Part 1: The 2023 Greenlandic Football Championship & our own visit to watch the world's shortest football season (00:44)

Part 2: A first for the Faroes and Bosnia & Herzegovina, plus the remarkable rise of Raków to the brink of Europe's top table (15:25)

Part 3: Drunk Latvian refs, the stand-in linesman wearing gold boots & a revolt against Samuel Eto'o in Cameroon (30:42)

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Who needs the European group stages? It's clearly all about the qualifying rounds - and with a major milestone for the Faroe Islands, notable results for Andorra and Malta, and a number of other captivating storylines across the continent, there's plenty for co-hosts Lee Wingate & Paul Watson to get stuck into on this episode of The Sweeper.

In Part 1, Lee & Paul start off by talking (once again) about team of the moment KÍ Klaksvík and another headline from the Nordic nations: the Icelandic youngster whose hat-trick knocked his father out of the Champions League. Then there's a crazy game in Kosovo with 23 minutes of added time, a landmark for Santa Coloma of Andorra & a look at the eight countries that have never had a group-stage representative.

Then, in Part 2, we turn our attentions to the state of limbo facing the Afghanistan women's team, the curious case of a raccoon that fell through a US press box ceiling, the Greenlandic team missing the Championship to go on a reindeer hunt and an Austrian derby that has been 18 years in the making as Austria Salzburg are drawn against Red Bull Salzburg - the club that bought them out back in 2005.

RUNNING ORDER:

Part 1 - The European qualifying rounds: Faroese magic, father-son battles & stoppage time madness (00:44)

Part 2 - The Afghan women's team, Greenlandic reindeer hunts, raccoons in the US press box and a spicy Salzburg derby (18:40)

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It's time for another episode of The Sweeper with co-hosts Lee Wingate & Paul Watson, who has penned the first chapter of his sequel to the hit book 'Up Pohnpei' - all about his adventures in Micronesian football. We talk all about it in Part 1 of this episode, before discussing the Indonesian team travelling in a tank and the Slovenian club president scoring goals in a desperate situation.

Part 2 starts off with a couple of stories from Sweden: lower-league Torns IF have discovered a loophole in the offside rule, while AIK supporters are telling police where to hit them with batons. Ladders (but no snakes) are being thrown around in France, while an Austrian club president is making headlines for handing out cash to quench fans' thirst - at a game Lee attended live.

Finally, in Part 3, we expand our focus to cover the whole continent: there's a preview of the European group stages and the biggest away days faced by the 96 teams in question, plus a look ahead to the international break and the chances Kazakhstan, Luxembourg and Moldova have of making it to EURO 2024.

RUNNING ORDER:

Part 1: The sequel to 'Up Pohnpei', the Indonesian team travelling in a tank & the Slovenian club president scoring goals (00:46)

Part 2: Offside rule loopholes and baton-wielding police in Sweden, snakes and ladders in France & drinks for the fans in Austria (17:01)

Part 3: The biggest away days in the European group phase & a look ahead to the international fixtures (32:18)

VIDEO: The loophole to the offside rule discovered by Torns IF:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2023/aug/30/swedish-third-tier-team-torns-if-find-offside-rule-loophole-video

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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)

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