The Sweeper - A World Soccer & Football Podcast

The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognised micronation that is located on a fort in the North Sea, approximately 11 kilometres off the coast of Suffolk in the Unted Kingdom.

Despite its tiny size – at 50 metres long, it is not even large enough for a football pitch – Sealand has a national team which is about to re-enter the fray after 12 years of inactivity.

So where on earth do they play their matches? Who plays for them – and who do they play against? Why are they returning to action now after more than a decade on the sidelines? And are they your best route to becoming an international football player?

Plus, a look at the celebrities who have previously been involved with Sealand’s football set-up and the other bizarre micro-nations that have been established around the world.

Join us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/SweeperPod) for Monday's bumper bonus podcast which is a round-up of the other big domestic cup stories from the final week of October, including German supporters doing their best to cement the away sector shut and the Polish fanbase forced to pull a collective sickie to watch their team’s biggest-ever game.

Read Adam Hurrey's article on Sealand for The New York Times on The Athletic here.

The Guardian's article about Pontinha is here.

Sealand national football team's official page is here.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:55 – The Principality of Sealand

03:24 – First forays into international football

06:58 – Return to action after 12 years

11:50 – Ambitions to join UEFA/FIFA?

15:55 – Bizarre micro-nations worldwide
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The Slovenian Cup is mental: Pizza and a referee almost conspired to deny Rogaška the title in 2023/24, while 2025/26 winners Aluminij come from a village of just 1,000 people.

And with third-tier teams vastly outnumbering top-flight clubs and making up almost half of the last-16 line-up in 2026/27, the quirks and oddities have only increased this season.

So why does this sleepy and sedate little country have such an unpredictable football scene? And what was our live experience of the ‘Večni Derby’ between Maribor & Olimpija like?

Plus there’s a look at the 13 Eternal Derbies across Central & Eastern Europe and an announcement about the crazy new mission being set in motion at Sweeper HQ.

Join us on Patreon for a round-up of the other big domestic cup stories from the final week of October, including German supporters doing their best to cement the away sector shut and the Polish fanbase forced to pull a collective sickie to watch their team’s biggest-ever game.

You can download Futbology here.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:53 – ‘Tales from the 211’

02:45 – Slovenia’s utterly mad cup

08:15 – Futbology

12:30 – Maribor v. Olimpija live

17:55 – Europe’s 13 Eternal Derbies
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The old European Cup Winners’ Cup made headlines like almost no other continental competition – but was eventually discontinued by UEFA following the 1998/99 campaign.

And yet 22 years later, Europe’s governing body reintroduced a third-tier competition for its 55 member nations: the Conference League, which was launched in 2021/22.

So what were the standout moments in Cup Winners’ Cup history? Why did UEFA abolish it, only to start another tertiary competition almost a quarter of a century later? And how does it compare to its modern-day equivalent: the Conference League?

Plus, a quiz on the teams of old that participated in the CWC and a deep dive on the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which has now morphed into the Europa League.

Join us on Patreon for Monday’s bonus podcast, in which we explore the FIFA U15 World Cup taking place in Azerbaijan – the largest international tournament in football history with 189 teams – and round up other stories from Canada, Uruguay and Germany.

Follow The Sweeper on Twitter/X and Instagram.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

01:00 – European club competition timeline

04:12 – Highlights of the Cup Winners’ Cup

10:05 – The launch of the Conference League

12:00 – Patreon plug: The FIFA U15 World Cup

12:40 – The debate: CWC versus UECL

20:25 – The quiz: Real or fake CWC teams
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IFK Mariehamn were dubbed ‘the Finnish Leicester’ when they sensationally won their first and only Veikkausliiga title in 2016, only seven years after turning fully professional as a club.

But a decade later, the team from the Åland Islands – a predominantly Swedish-speaking archipelago in the Baltic Sea – have been relegated, ending a 22-year top-flight stay.

So how did this cluster of scenic islands and their 30,000 residents fall under Finnish jurisdiction? What were the factors behind the sensational rise and fall of IFK Mariehamn? And which other island clubs have become national champions in European football history?

Plus, the island clubs that you didn’t know were island clubs. Lee puts Paul to the test by quizzing his niche European football geography knowledge.

Join us here on Patreon for our Monday bonus podcast, where we tell a special selection of stories that we have kept behind especially for our subscribers. You can also join our growing Discord community and chat with the hosts and your fellow listeners.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:30 – An overview of the Åland Islands

03:42 – The rise of IFK Mariehamn

06:28 – The secrets to the success

12:25 – The fall and future of the club

15:42 – Island club champions in Europe

19:41 – Geography quiz – Island club or not?
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UEFA has not added to its 55 members in a decade – the longest time between new additions since San Marino joined in 1988 – though it has not been for a lack of trying.

Greenland have been desperate for competitive football and Jersey have even taken their case to court, but are both regarded as ineligible. Meanwhile, the two countries that do fulfil the current criteria – Monaco and Vatican City – appear to have no interest in joining.

So what exactly are the rules for becoming a UEFA member? Why do Monaco and the Vatican choose not to join? How did it go when the Pope talked with president Aleksander Čeferin about potential Vatican membership? And why does Monaco stay away from the European football family despite being home to a former UCL finalist?

Plus, the Iberian dispute that changed the rules on membership forever and the other contenders to become the 56th member of UEFA.

Join us on Patreon to listen to our back catalogue of more than 100 bonus episodes, enter our football shirt giveaways, join our chat community on Discord, play the daily GeoFooty quiz, read our weekly newsletters and monthly World Soccer columns, and much more besides!

Listen to the Greenland episode with Nick Miller from June 2025 here.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro

00:50 – Rules on UEFA membership

05:12 – Monaco: Unwilling to gamble?

10:20 – Vatican City: A papal intervention

13:30 – Other contenders for 56th member

15:09 – Jersey: Victory at CAS

17:33 – Greenland: Nowhere to turn
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