Eritrea’s national team haven’t played an official match in seven years.

But this month, the Red Sea Camels are making their long-awaited return to the international stage in AFCON 2027 qualifying.

So what kept Eritrea away? Why are they returning to the fold now? And do they have any chance against Eswatini?

In this episode, we take you on a virtual journey to the Horn of Africa – and shine a light on the only country excluded from the FIFA rankings.

Plus, the Belarusian team in exile in Poland and the Russian war critic making waves in Cyprus.

Sweeper football shirts: ⁠https://stingz.co/collections/sweeper-podcast⁠

Deutsche Welle documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMRQQYGNBK8

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

01:14 – Eritrea’s international absence

04:55 – Dictatorships and defection

09:16 – The long-awaited return to the fold

13:30 – The state of play in the national team

19:02 – Poland’s Belarusian club in exile

22:47 – Sweeper shirts and special bonus pod

24:17 – Russia’s war critic turned club owner

A World Cup co-host is at war with another participating nation.

Since the United States launched strikes against Iran at the end of last month, the big question in the football world has been whether the latter will still play at the World Cup.

So will Iran play or not? Could they even face the United States? And who would likely replace them if they were to withdraw?

Today, we run through all the conceivable scenarios and analyse the most turbulent build-up to a World Cup in living memory.

Plus: The Barcelona fan who went to the wrong St. James’ Park and Welsh club Llantwit Major’s hilarious cup run.

BUY THE SHIRTS: ⁠⁠https://stingz.co/collections/sweeper-podcast⁠⁠

Get £6 off with Patreon: ⁠⁠https://patreon.com/sweeperpod⁠

The Guardian on the 1930 World Cup: https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/may/13/world-cup-stunning-moments-25-conte-verde-uruguay

The Los Angeles Times on India:

https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/sports-now/story/2011-07-19/did-india-withdraw-from-the-1950-world-cup-because-they-were-not-allowed-to-play-barefoot

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

00:55 – Iran’s World Cup predicament

04:35 – USA fit to host tournament?

08:09 – Scenario 1 – Iran play at World Cup

11:25 – Historical precedents for withdrawals

16:40 – Scenario 2 – Iran withdraw from World Cup

20:55 – Barca fan’s extreme travel mix-up

29:17 – Llantwit Major’s wacky cup run

Steaua Bucharest, Romania’s most successful club, no longer exists.

Instead, two teams now both lay claim to the original club’s success – including the highly prized 1986 European Cup.

So who is the true successor? Why did UEFA change its mind four decades later? And could they ever play against each other?

In this episode, we take you inside one of European football’s oddest disputes: the battle for Steaua Bucharest’s history.

Plus: The Italian coach who sacked himself after 44 years and the German pirate island club with no opponents.

BUY THE SHIRTS: ⁠https://stingz.co/collections/sweeper-podcast⁠

Get £6 off with Patreon: ⁠https://patreon.com/sweeperpod

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

00:57 – FCSB’s nightmare season

02:19 – The battle for Steaua’s history

10:09 – Unlikely European Cup winners quiz

14:07 – Gigi Becali: Football’s craziest owner

17:39 – The coach who sacked himself

23:04 – Football’s longest-serving managers

26:10 – The club with no opponents

Welcome to The Sweeper Podcast. Each week, we bring you the most extraordinary global football stories from across the 211 FIFA countries and beyond.

New episodes are released at 8pm UK time every Tuesday. For bonus podcasts every Thursday at the same time, sign up at patreon.com/sweeperpod.

In North Korea, even football is shrouded in secrecy.

Fixtures in the DPRK Premier League aren’t published. Fans only find out matches are happening when notices appear outside the stadium the day before. You can’t check the scores. And you can’t watch full games on TV.

So how does football actually work in the world’s most secretive country?

Why are English Premier League matches shown – but delayed by months and cut down to 60 minutes? Is it really possible to groundhop in Pyongyang? And how have North Korea’s women become one of the strongest forces in football – especially at youth level?

Join us for all the answers in this episode, in which we also tell the story of the Colombian club totally transformed under Wrexham’s Hollywood owners and unveil our first-ever merch: The Sweeper Podcast football shirts.

BUY THE SHIRTS: https://stingz.co/collections/sweeper-podcast

Get £6 off with Patreon: https://patreon.com/sweeperpod

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

01:25 – The DPRK Premier League

05:41 – Bizarre North Korean broadcasts

09:08 – Groundhopping in Pyongyang

13:43 – Unrivalled success at youth level

18:40 – Wrexham's Hollywood duo in Colombia

26:32 – The Sweeper's football shirts

Bodø/Glimt continued their sensational debut UEFA Champions League campaign by beating Italian giants Inter in the Arctic Circle – after 80 tons of snow had first been cleared from their pitch, of course.

But did you know Norway is home to an even snowier pitch, 1,000km further north at the very top of the world, in a place where seeds are stored for the event of an apocalypse and people carry rifles to the supermarket to stave off polar bear attacks?

So who used to play here, on this northernmost 11-a-side pitch in the world? Why did it all change after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? And why do so many Liverpool fans live in this Arctic wilderness?

Next, we hop over to Central America, where a family feud is ruining birthdays and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. So what scenario is unfolding here that is happening nowhere else in the world?

Finally, there’s a club in a local amateur league whose players are forced to play every match at home. Why are they banned from ever playing away? And which former professional footballer is employed to guard them?

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

01:34 – Bodø/Glimt's UCL magic

04:51 – Football at the top of the world

07:59 – Four fun facts about Svalbard

12:27 – El Salvador's family feud

16:02 – Family coaching battles

20:03 – Poland's Nazi-defying club

22:51 – Hashtag United's cup clash

26:06 – Jonker Boys' unusual restriction

Around The World in 80 Clubs: ⁠https://geni.us/WorldIn80Clubs

The most-played match in world football has been contested nearly 1,000 times – yet most fans have never heard of it.

Join us on a journey to a tropical corner of the planet as we uncover a rivalry first played in 1914… and still being contested today.

Who are the two teams involved? Why have they faced each other so often – an average of seven times a year for over a century? And what could finally slow this extraordinary fixture down in 2026?

Next, we explore the remarkable story of a top-flight club who have not lost a league game since before the pandemic. How have they stayed unbeaten for so long – and why, despite that run, are they still not the most dominant team in world football?

Finally, we turn to the international game and the national team hoping to represent what could become the world’s newest country in 2027. But if independence comes, will they be welcomed into the global football family – or left waiting on the sidelines?

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

01:14 – The world’s most-played fixture

11:21 – Other contenders for the title

14:45 – The longest unbeaten run in history

22:00 – Around The World in 80 Clubs

25:30 – The world’s newest national team?

Bougainville – A New Country: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/126735-000-A/arte-reportage/

Around The World in 80 Clubs: https://geni.us/WorldIn80Clubs

A sleepy town of 22,000 people in southern Slovakia is home to a top-flight football club that is challenging for national titles and boasts an ultra-modern, sleek stadium that is entirely out of step with its surroundings – thanks to money from abroad.

We paid a visit to Dunajská Streda to watch local team DAC 1904 play domestic giants Slovan Bratislava in a top-of-the table clash in Slovakia. But this was no ordinary game. It was the most politically charged football match we’ve ever seen.

The reason for that lies far beyond the football pitch. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is funding clubs in neighbouring countries as part of a broader political strategy – one that may help him win re-election in April and shape the balance of power in the EU.

Elsewhere, the Copa Libertadores is reportedly preparing to invite guest clubs from Mexico and the US to participate in the competition starting in 2027, while Chinese football has hit a new low after nine of the Super League’s 16 clubs were deducted points.

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:49 - Live game: DAC 1904 v Slovan Bratislava

14:32 - Viktor Orbán's political power play

21:18 - Copa Libertadores guest invitations

23:04 - Analysis from Jon Arnold

25:59 - China's Super League low point

27:21 - Analysis from John Duerden

Sources for the lead story

Atlatszo: https://english.atlatszo.hu/2018/12/11/the-orban-government-spent-billions-on-hungarian-football-clubs-in-serbia-romania-and-slovakia

Balkan Insight: https://balkaninsight.com/2025/07/08/hungary-and-croatia-build-stadium-for-e7-5-million-in-village-of-500-inhabitants

Denník: https://dennikn.sk/1380564/bolo-to-ako-vojna-bitka-policajtov-s-fanusikmi-dunajskej-stredy-po-ktorej-sa-zmenil-zakon/

Radio Free Europe: https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-orban-sport-influence-romania/31977287.html

Salzburger Nachrichten:https://www.sn.at/sport/fussball/international/dac-dunajska-streda-orbans-aushaengeschild-in-der-slowakei-art-371392