Because Football

Welcome to Episode 19 of the Because Football Podcast! Our guest for Episode 19 of the Because Football Podcast is Luca Mellor, originally of Huddersfield, England. Luca is the Head Men's Soccer Coach at Eastern University in St. David's, Pennsylvania. Luca grew up in the Manchester United Academy before signing a pre-professional contract with Bradford City FC, and then decided to make th...

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Quique Hauessler of Guatemala City, Guatemala. Quique played at the professional level in Guatemala and at NCAA Division 1, 2 and NJCAA (Junior College) level in the United States. He has experienced soccer in many different environments, from being a part of Guatemala's top youth soccer academy, t...

Episode 3 of the Because Football Podcast is PERFECT for anyone looking to chase their dreams and get outside their comfort zone. We chat with soccer coach Blaine McKenna, who is currently based in beautiful Phuket (take it easy - it's pronounced Poo-ket), Thailand. Blaine is a UEFA A License coach with 14 years' experience coaching and educating coaches in 11 countries across five contine...

This is a great episode for anyone interested in college soccer in the USA. Our guest, Sharif Saber, has coached at multiple levels of the game and is currently the Head Coach of the Women's Soccer program at USC-Upstate, an NCAA Division 1 team in the Big South conference. This episode dives into Coach Sharif's journey and the many sacrifices he has made and risks he has taken to reach th...

We're BACK for Episode 2 of the Because Football podcast. This time around, we sit down with Jonny Hopcroft, COO of Icarus FC and fervent Fulham FC supporter. This episode meanders from Jonny's initial experiences of lower league soccer to how that passion drew him to the mission of Icarus FC, a design-focused brand that has a deep arsenal of absolutely FIRE football kits. We discuss the p...

Welcome to the FIRST EVER episode of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Laurene Tresfield. Laurene is a professional women's footballer from Paris, France. She is currently a center defender for Alaves in the Spanish Women's Primera. She was previously the Captain of @gpso92issy9 in the Division 2 Feminine, the second division of professional football...

Welcome to Episode 18 of the Because Football Podcast! Our guest for Episode 18 of the Because Football Podcast is Stephen Bower, Head Coach of Men's Soccer and Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Valley Forge in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Coach Bower has experience at the college and youth club level. When he took over as Head Coach at UVF, a NCAA Division 3 program, they strugg...

Welcome to Episode 17 of the Because Football Podcast! Our guest for Episode 17 of the Because Football Podcast is Reda Laraichi of Rabat, Morocco. Reda is the Senior Manager Business Development & Strategy for Rainbow Sports Global, a leading Pan-African sports entity, providing holistic management, marketing, and media solutions for football sports agencies, clubs, and talented African footb...

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Because Football Podcast! Our guests are Marc Bruneau and Junior Soulama, co-founders of the Étoiles Naissantes Academy, or "Rising Stars Academy" of Abidjan, Ivory Coast / Cote d'Ivoire. Marc, originally from Bordeaux, France, and Junior, a native of Abidjan, met through a mutual friend more than a decade ago. Both had experiences playing professional an...

Welcome to Episode #14 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Dane Jacomen, professional goalkeeper for Loudoun United of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional soccer in the United States. As a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dane grew up as a multi-sport athlete. His first experience as a goalkeeper was only because his travel team coach vo...

Welcome to Episode #13 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Harry Varley, previous the Head Africa Scout for KAA Gent of the Belgian Pro League, and now an independent African and Caribbean football expert. You will have a tough time finding a more well-rounded, cultured person in the game! As a native of Leeds, England, Harry saw firsthand of football can im...

Welcome to Episode #12 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Christopher Grant, the General Manager of Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC in Cambodia, one of the league's top clubs who were champions in 2019 under Christopher's guidance. A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, Chris coached in academies and soccer schools in the UK before moving to Cambodia to se...

Welcome to Episode 11 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Jessica Malone, a Soccer SUPER FAN who has visited 90 stadiums in 19 countries and attended 4 FIFA World Cups! Jessica first got the soccer bug watching the 1999 Women's World Cup and attended a quarterfinal doubleheader - watching eventual hero Brandi Chastain score an own goal 5 minutes into the...

Welcome to Episode 10 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Steve Darby, an experienced coach who has held numerous roles at the international and club level in Australia and Asia. Steve began playing soccer in the streets of Liverpool, England and was born just a few blocks from Anfield Stadium, the home of Liverpool FC. He has held roles such as National Tea...

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Chris Steel, a former professional player, coach, and club director with 22 years of experience on 4 different continents. He holds UEFA A & UEFA Elite Youth A Licences. Chris began playing soccer as a boy in Glasgow, Scotland on red ash pitches and very quickly developed one sole aim for life: to...

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is Ryan Roy Shah. Coach Ryan has a UEFA B license and Masters in Sports Science and High Performance with 6+ years of coaching and management experience at schools, universities, clubs and academies. He is currently heading Pune Pioneers Football Club in Pune, India as Club Director. In this episode we di...

Welcome to Episode 7 of the Because Football Podcast presented by Transform Soccer. Our guest is John Adair. Coach John wears many hats as the Technical Director at Buckingham United Soccer Club in the Philadelphia USA area, as well as Head Boys Soccer Coach at CB West High School. In 2023, he attained his USSF B License and was formerly the Regional Director at Coerver Coaching. He also has exper...

Episode 5 brings great insight into how coaches can develop themselves, THE EASIEST WAY FOR PLAYERS TO IMPROVE ON THEIR OWN, and fun stories of soccer adventures in the UK. It's a great one for coaches, players, and parents to enjoy and learn from. Our guest, youth soccer coach Will Kemp, is a native of South Jersey (USA) and has been involved in the beautiful game for over 25 years. In his ro...