This episode is brought to you in association with FIFA+. Click here to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live football around the world: tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper

Click here to buy the November issue of World Soccer: https://shop.kelsey.co.uk/single-issue/world-soccer-magazine

In Part 1, the focus is on the club game in the continent The Sweeper calls home: Europe. Why did the entire Njegoš team simultaneously collapse in the Montenegrin third division? And was there any truth to the plutonium poisoning allegations? How did Ängelholms in the fourth tier of Swedish women’s football miss out on the title despite not conceding a goal? And what bizarre record did their goalkeeper end the season with? And why did Breiðablik fans stage a break-in ahead of their final-day title-decider with Víkingur Reykjavík in Iceland?

Part 2 contains a selection of stories from Africa, Asia, Central America and Oceania. Why has a second club from New Zealand, Auckland FC, joined Australia’s A-League? And why will their upcoming match against Wellington Phoenix be unique in world football? What has led TP Mazembe in DR Congo to play Nigerian goalkeeper Suleman Shaibu in attack? How did Wolues of the British Virgin Islands come to have a misspelling in their name? And how are the two clubs from war-torn Sudan playing 5,000km away in Mauritania getting on?

If you don’t want to wait until 13 November for our next episode, join us on Patreon for our bonus episodes in the in-between weeks. Simply sign up at patreon.com/SweeperPod and join us for a special pod on 6 November. We will be joined by some special guests to talk about their recent groundhops in Slovenia and Croatia, before rounding up some other stories from Russia, Uzbekistan and Eritrea. Patrons also get access to our Discord chat community, bonus blogs, weekly newsletters and entry into our shirt giveaways too.

RUNNING ORDER:

00:00 – Intro

00:43 – Montenegro’s mass collapse

07:24 – Sweden’s perfect runners-up

11:54 – Iceland’s final-day title decider

16:12 – Other summer league tales

21:03 – Kiwi club’s debut in the A-League

29:28 – An attacking keeper in DR Congo

34:14 – The Sweeper Super Sunday on FIFA+

41:15 – First Vienna game with a patron

Editor: Ralph Foster

This episode is brought to you in association with FIFA+. Click here to get your free FIFA+ account and watch live football around the world: tinyurl.com/FIFAPlusSweeper

In Part 1, we take a look at one of the world’s most remote footballing outposts with Faraway Football blogger Matthew Eide, who has just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Bhutan courtesy of football kit designers Icarus. Which footballing figure flew the plane that transported him from Kathmandu to Paro? How did a 10-goal thriller have more drama after the final whistle than in the game itself? Which endangered species are Thimphu City fighting to help save? And how could YOU join the Overseas Board of a football club in Asia?

Part 2 is dedicated to the best stories from the international game in the October window. Why was oxygen being provided on the sidelines at Bolivia’s World Cup qualifier against Colombia? Who holds the longest ongoing winless run in international football now that Liechtenstein and Andorra have both won? Why did Turkmenistan’s government deny their national football team permission to travel to Malta? And for what unusual reason did the Turks & Caicos goalkeeper miss the CONCACAF Nations League clash with Anguilla?

If you don’t want to wait another fortnight for our next episode, join us on Patreon for our bonus podcasts in the in-between weeks at patreon.com/SweeperPod. The next patron-only episode will hit the airwaves on Wednesday 23 October. Subscribers can also read our bonus blog about our trip to Lugano, join several hundred other patrons on our Discord chat community, enter our regular shirt giveaway contests and get a sneak preview of each podcast on the weekend before it is released.

Follow Matthew Eide’s Faraway Football account:

Twitter: x.com/FarAwayFootball

Instagram: Instagram.com/farawayfootball

RUNNING ORDER:

00:00 – Intro

00:31 – Lee & Paul’s travel disasters

02:57 – A groundhop to beautiful Bhutan

18:24 – FIFA+: South America & Oceania

26:58 – A golden era for Europe's micro-states

34:57 – Country vs. club in Turkmenistan

38:36 – Poolside viewing in the Caribbean

Editor: Ralph Foster

In Part 1, Lee reflects on his trip to watch high-flying Lugano take on Winterthur in the Swiss Super League. What’s the story behind their collaboration with MLS outfit Chicago Fire? What else has been behind the club’s rise to domestic cup winners and title challengers? And could Switzerland have its first national champion from the Italian-speaking region since 1949? We also hear from YouTuber and friend of the pod TheTimTraveller about Campione d’Italia (the exclave on the other side of Lake Lugano) and their eighth-division football team.

Next up, it’s Paul’s turn to tell the story of his visit to Welsh outfit The New Saints ahead of their UEFA Conference League clash with Fiorentina. But what about the four Welsh clubs in the English pyramid dreaming of European football? Why is Norwegian second-tier club Bryne inviting spectators to bring their tractors to matches? And why are the Vatican’s men’s and women’s teams making a trip to Berlin soon? We answer all those questions in Part 2, which includes another guest appearance from YouTuber and Away Days host Ellis Platten.

For the chance to win a Vatican national team shirt, to read our in-depth bonus blog about Lugano’s rise and to join our chat community on Discord, join us on Patreon at patreon.com/SweeperPod. You can also listen to our bonus podcast out on Wednesday 9 October, in which we talk about our visit to the Serie B match between FC Südtirol and Palermo, the Iranian ballistic missiles that made an appearance in the AFC Champions League 2 and the Romanian sporting director urging fans to abandon adult content creators.

RUNNING ORDER

00:00 – Intro

00:51 - The rise of Swiss side Lugano

10:34 - Mascots & miniature models

13:15 - Campione d'Italia with TheTimTraveller

17:25 - A stop-off at FC Südtirol

18:52 - Behind the scenes at TNS

25:00 - Alternative Welsh routes in Europe

29:21 - Tractor tickets in Norway with Ellis Platten

33:53 - The quirkiest VIP offerings in football

38:27 - Peru's Vatican-themed football club

42:12 - The Vatican's upcoming tour to Berlin

Video: Away Days at Bryne: Out on Saturday 5 October

Video: TheTimTraveller on Campione d’Italia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1fqinoNiZE

Editor: Ralph Foster