The Sweeper - World Football Stories

Qarabağ have made Champions League history this season, becoming the first Azerbaijani club to ever reach the knockout stages of the competition – and setting up a play-off tie against Premier League team Newcastle United.

Their run has come at a time of dramatic geopolitical change in the South Caucasus, with the club preparing to return to their hometown of Ağdam after spending more than three decades in exile in the capital Baku.

Elsewhere, Bodø/Glimt stunned the continent by qualifying for the knockouts despite not playing domestic football since November, while Benfica hit the headlines with a goalkeeper goal and a viral TV interview from a local priest.

Club Brugge also progressed through the league phase, but that will not be the enduring memory of their season for three fans who accompanied the team to Kazakhstan and ended up in jail in one of the strangest away-day stories of the season.

Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:41 – Qarabağ's historic Champions League run
02:01 – A story of exile and homecoming
07:22 – Soft power and state support
10:50 – The secret to their sporting success
14:37 – The challenges ahead: Newcastle and Sabah
17:02 – Patreon preview: Chapecoense and South America
18:33 – Another milestone for Bodø/Glimt
21:45 – Benfica's keeper goal and priest interview
26:07 – Brugge's congratulations and Borat arrests

Christmas has come and gone, but for Santa Claus – the football club that is, not the man with the beard – the other big moment of the year is fast approaching.

This amateur team of tourism and post office workers are about to enter the Finnish Cup – their one big moment each year to show they are more than just a novelty name.

But beyond Lapland, what else is so unique about the competition? We speak to Tomi Leivo-Jokimäki, the chief organiser at the Finnish Football Association, about its soaring popularity, English influence and the trophy's wacky back story.

Finally, we take a look at other unique cup competitions across the European continent – from France’s all-inclusive cup to Bosnia’s strange final.

Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:32 – Santa Claus' other big moment
03:38 – The uniqueness of the Finnish Cup
05:42 – A typical run in the competition
07:40 – Favourite Finnish club names
09:38 – Interview with Tomi Leivo-Jokimäki
23:20 – Patreon episode sneak peak
24:29 – Cup craziness across Europe

In just three seasons, a small-town club from central Luxembourg have gone from third-tier obscurity to challenging for the top-flight title.
 
At the heart of their rise is president Carlos Teixeira, a construction entrepreneur who literally built the club’s stadium himself before reluctantly taking over the reins.
 
On this episode, we tell Atert Bissen's story – before heading to the Netherlands, where an amateur club in the KNVB Beker are guaranteed to lift a trophy whether they win the competition or not.
 
To complete the Benelux trio we finish off in Belgium, where an angry father, a potential Iraqi investor and a revolving door of coaches have allegedly turned Olympic Charleroi into a hot mess.
 
Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:45 – Atert Bissen’s remarkable rise
06:35 – Rapid risers across the globe
08:40 – De Treffers & the Blue Pine Cone
14:40 – Amateur rewards worldwide
18:00 – Chaos at Olympic Charleroi
22:20 – Special Sweeper announcement

In Part 1, Lee & Paul preview the inaugural OFC Pro League – the first fully professional football competition in Oceania’s history – which kicks off in New Zealand on Saturday 17 January. What matches will take place in the first circuit series in Auckland – and where can you watch them? Which team will have to travel the furthest and cross the International Date Line for their fixtures? Who are the standout players to watch out for? And what does the new tournament mean for the future of the OFC Champions League?In Part 2, there are stories from Europe, Africa and Asia. In Germany, a former Bundesliga coach is managing two McDonald’s restaurants – but what other unusual careers have footballers had after hanging up their boots? At AFCON, Mali have turned to a fetish priest to tip fate in their favour for their game against Tunisia. What on earth is one of those, we hear you ask?! And finally, Japan prepares for its transition to an autumn-spring league. But which J-League club have been royally screwed over by the switch?
Chapters
00:00 – Intro
04:11 – OFC Pro League: Format & fixtures
08:58 – OFC Pro League: Distances & date lines
13:24 – OFC Pro League: Intriguing individuals
23:23 – OFC Pro League: Concurrent competitions
27:54 – The German ex-coach working at McDonald's
31:32 – Strangest former footballer careers
38:53 – Mali's fetish priest & Gabon's letter
46:03 – Japan's schedule switch & Fukushima United

In Part 1, Lee and Paul are joined by Asia correspondent John Duerden to cast a look at some huge stories across the continent – in India, Malaysia and South Korea. What on earth happened on Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour of Kolkata? And why is the world’s largest country still without a top-flight league months after the season should have gotten under way? What has the fallout been from Malaysia’s attempt to illegally naturalise seven players? And why did Gus Poyet resign in protest after winning the double with Jeonbuk in South Korea?
In Part 2, Africa correspondent Ali Howorth drops in before flying to Morocco to give us the lowdown on AFCON 2025 and help us decide which team to support at the tournament. Then it’s over to Europe to put the Ekstraklasa under the microscope. But what unique situation that we have never seen before has occurred in Poland’s top flight? And finally, to mark the festive season, there is a mention for Christmas Island – an Australian overseas territory that is known for its red crabs and its football rivalry with the nearby Cocos Islands.
World Soccer magazine special offer: shop.kelsey.co.uk/sweeperxmas25
John Duerden’s Substack newsletter: https://howfootballexplainsasia.substack.com
Ali Howarth’s AFCON flow chart: https://x.com/ahoworth97/status/2001293214012014953
Chapters
00:00 – Intro
00:35 – India’s Super League crisis
08:56 – Other leagues in limbo worldwide
11:29 – Malaysia’s naturalisation scandal
21:47 – Gus Poyet’s Jeonbuk departure
27:17 – AFCON 2025 in Morocco
39:55 – The crazy Polish Ekstraklasa
44:25 – Mayhem & chaos across UEFA
48:00 – Christmas Island and red crabs
53:45 – On The Spot - The Apertura crown