The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast - Match-fixing scandal rocks Belarus, cycling toddler invades pitch in Finland & 49-year-old goalie keeps clean sheet in Faroes

Match-fixing scandal rocks Belarus, cycling toddler invades pitch in Finland & 49-year-old goalie keeps clean sheet in Faroes

05/17/23 • 46 min

1 Listener

Co-hosts Lee Wingate & Paul Watson return to the virtual studio on their opposite sides of the Channel for another audio journey around the world of football in the space of 45 minutes, with extended Sweeper family member Tom Middler returning as producer.

The football season may be winding down but that means it’s cup final time across the continent. Lee is preparing to travel to see the showpiece event in Liechtenstein between Balzers & Vaduz and hike to every stadium in the country the following day.

The domestic cup round-up does not stop there, as the team talk about the second-tier outfit in the Luxembourg cup final, the first seventh-tier side to qualify for the Copa del Rey in 120 years & the pitch-invading toddler in Finland – the land of epic club names.

Paul tells the story of North Macedonia’s record champions resorting to Crowdfunder, in a segment that also covers the three Belarusian sides involved in a match-fixing scandal and the club in San Marino holding try-outs for players.

And finally, there are some feel-good stories: a 49-year-old goalkeeping coach keeps a clean sheet in the Faroes, Kecskemét are Europe’s best promoted club, an Italian coach calls his mum in a pitchside interview and Belenenses equal a world promotion record.

RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 – Lee’s trip to Liechtenstein to attend the cup final (00:43); lower-league cup stories in Luxembourg, Spain and Finland (10:07)

PART 2 – Clubs in a spot of bother: North Macedonia, Belarus and San Marino (17:44)

PART 3 – Feel-good stories: the Faroe Islands, Hungary, Italy and Portugal (32:46)

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RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 – Lee’s trip to Liechtenstein to attend the cup final (00:43); lower-league cup stories in Luxembourg, Spain and Finland (10:07)

PART 2 – Clubs in a spot of bother: North Macedonia, Belarus and San Marino (17:44)

PART 3 – Feel-good stories: the Faroe Islands, Hungary, Italy and Portugal (32:46)

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

Previous Episode

Former pub team win trophy in Gibraltar, Spanish side lose every game for 11 years & Viktor Orbán-back clubs make waves outside Hungary

With the majority of the European seasons nearing a conclusion and the 12 summer leagues now up and running, there is plenty for hosts Lee Wingate & Paul Watson to sink their teeth into on the latest edition of The Sweeper.

Having revealed his tentative plans to become a sporting director at a sixth-division Italian club, Paul is reminded of his claim that he could beat Man Utd defender Axel Tuanzebe's Guinness World Record for clearing a Hungry Hippos board in 17.36 seconds & is challenged by Lee to a quiz about unlikely world records held by football players.

The remainder of the opening segment is dedicated to the Iberian peninsula, with a chat about the former pub team that won Gibraltar's Rock Cup followed by a look at the Spanish side that have lost every game for 11 years and conceded over 4,000 goals in the process.

Part two delves deeper into off-the-pitch matters such as Viktor Orbán's financial backing for football clubs outside of Hungary, Fortuna Düsseldorf's free ticket pilot project and the Brazilian club that have named themselves after now-disbanded Ukrainian outfit Mariupol.

Last but not least, the team metaphorically sprint around the continent rounding up all the premature title-winners, champions-elect, unlikely promotion contenders and surprise relegations, before revealing their plans for the show over the summer.

RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 - Paul's plans to become an Italian club's sporting director & the Guinness World Record quiz (00:42); stories from the Iberian peninsula (06:39); Surprise Shirts read-out (13:30)

PART 2 - Off the pitch stories: soft power in Hungary, free tickets in Germany, an away crowd of one in South Korea & a renamed club in Brazil (15:58)

PART 3 - A round-up of all the champions, promotion battles and relegation dogfights across Europe (30:48)

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Next Episode

Cups & cults in Liechtenstein, mistimed bus parades in Luxembourg & colossal away days in Kazakhstan

Pod duo Lee Wingate and Paul Watson are back with another carefully curated batch of weird and wonderful stories from across the football world, with Tom Middler returning to the virtual studio to produce the episode.

Lee reflects on his trip to Liechtenstein’s Cup Final - where FC Vaduz unsurprisingly win a world-record 49th domestic cup - and his subsequent 50km hike through the hills to see all seven football stadiums in the micro-state in the space of 24 hours.

Promotions and relegations are on the agenda next: there is a premature pitch invasion or two in Germany, a mistimed open-top bus parade in Luxembourg, a calamitous stadium inauguration in Romania and a European berth for Arsenal – the one in Montenegro, of course!

That is followed by a look at Europe’s biggest top-flight away day in Kazakhstan, a disastrous own goal in Lithuania and an amusing misspelling in the British Virgin Islands. The team then conclude by revealing more details about their upcoming Patreon launch.

RUNNING ORDER:

PART 1 – Lee’s lookback at the Liechtenstein Cup Final & his misjudged micro-state stadium hike (00:47)

PART 2 – Bizarre tales of promotions & relegations: Germany, Luxembourg, Romania & Montenegro (14:28)

PART 3 – Away days, own goals & misspellings: Kazakhstan, Lithuania & the British Virgin Islands (36:33)

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