The FootPol Podcast

Marie-Louise Eta’s appointment at FC Union Berlin in the Bundesliga in April made history as she became the first woman to take charge of a men’s team in one of Europe’s top five leagues. But the reality behind the headline is more complex than the milestone suggests. In this episode, we examine her coaching pathway, the institutional context of her appointment and the sexist backlash that followe...

What if football is following the same path as social media: hook the users, lock them in, then squeeze them for everything they're worth? In this episode, we talk to Mark O'Neill, a doctoral researcher at Westminster University, about the “enshittification” of football—how the relentless pursuit of revenue is reshaping the game, from ticket prices and fan culture to player welfare and t...

The 2026 World Cup is already generating political heat long before kick-off. In this episode, Francesco is joined by Tamir Bar-On and Danyel Reiche, sport and politics experts and editors of a new special issue in Soccer & Society  on the World Cup 2026 to unpack what the tournament reveals about global football and world politics. From the first-ever tri-nation hosting arrangement across the...

With the 2026 World Cup just weeks away, France once again enters the tournament as one of football’s superpowers — but what does the French national team actually represent in modern France? In this gripping episode, co-hosts Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro sit down with Bangor University's Senior Lecturer in French (Studies), Jonathan Ervine , to unpack the explosive intersection of foot...

As Curaçao prepares for its first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance, the latest episode of the FootPol podcast goes far beyond football. Host Guy Burton is joined by historians and researchers Karym Leito and Margo Groenewoud to unpack how a small Caribbean island with deep colonial ties to the Netherlands built a national team capable of reaching football’s biggest stage. The conversation explores C...

What does football really reveal about globalisation—and where does that neat theory start to fall apart? In this episode, hosts Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro are joined by historian and analyst Graham Cornwell (George Washington University; Box2Box) for a sharp, wide-ranging discussion that uses the global game as a lens on power, identity and money. Drawing on Cornwell’s recent Foreign Poli...

A compelling instalment in our in-season series on World Cup debutants, in this episode co-hosts Guy and Francesco talk to Middle East scholar Curtis Ryan of Appalachian State University about Jordan’s historic first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup. From the fierce rivalry between Al-Faisaly and Al-Wehdat—shaped by identity, history and social tensions—to the unifying force of the nation...

This week's FootPol Podcast episode explores Indian football as a political and social phenomenon rather than simply a sport. Joining co-hosts Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro in conversation is Sandeep Menon , author of Sacred Grounds: A Journey Through People’s Football in India . It traces how the game is embedded in India’s uneven political geography—from the northeastern states, where...

In the FootPol Podcast's latest episode, Francesco Belcastro and Guy Burton unpack the latest political storms that have shaken the football world in the past week. They start with the AFCON 2025 controversy, examining the dramatic reversal of Senegal’s victory against Morocco, the refereeing disputes, CAF politics and the political fallout for fans and federations. The discussion then moves...

Football fanzines were once the DIY voice of supporters in Britain — photocopied, stapled together, and sold outside stadiums by fans who wanted to challenge clubs, authorities, and the football establishment. In this episode, Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro speak with Paddy Hoey, senior lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University and author of influential research on football fan activism, in...

In this special FootPol Podcast episode, co-hosts Francesco Belcastro and Guy Burton confront the explosive intersection of geopolitics and sport as the United States and Israel’s military attacks on Iran cast a shadow over the latter's participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With Iran’s FA signalling a potential withdrawal and the US having already imposed visa bans on numerous countries,...

The FootPol Podcast has reached 100 episodes!  To mark this special occasion, we return to this season's World Cup debutants series, this time focusing on Cabo Verde’s historic qualification for the 2026 tournament. Co-hosts Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro are joined by Cape Verdean historian and writer Emmanuel Charles D’Oliveira and Nuno Domingos, senior researcher at the University of L...

Women’s football in the Middle East and North Africa is changing fast — but unevenly. In this 99th episode of the FootPol Podcast , co-hosts Francesco Becastro and Guy Burton speak with Assile Toufailly, a former Lebanon international and recent sociology PhD graduate from the University of Lyon 1 in France, to unpack the real state of the women’s game across the MENA region.  From Morocco’s risin...

As the 2026 World Cup approaches, how will geopolitics, migration policy and fan culture shape the tournament across the United States, Mexico and Canada? In this episode of FootPol, Guy Burton is joined by Pete Watson (University of Leeds) and Roger Magazine (Universidad Iberoamericana) to unpack the political fault lines running through the next World Cup, from US intervention in Venezuela and F...

In this episode of FootPol, Francesco Belcastro and Guy Burton are joined by CJ Price, Director of Football at Palmerston North Marist FC, for a deep dive into how football is evolving in New Zealand and across Oceania. Using Palmerston North Marist as a window onto the wider system, CJ unpacks life inside community-rooted clubs: how they are run, how leagues and youth pathways are structured and...

What really happened when the FA took over women’s football in 1993 – and why does it still matter today? In this first episode of 2026, co-hosts Francesco Belcastro and Guy Burton are joined by Rafaelle Nicholson of Bournemouth Media School to unpack the hidden history, politics and governance of women’s football in England – from the rise and fall of the Women’s Football Association (WFA) to tod...

As the year comes to a close, FootPol examines what it really takes to build a career in women’s football — and how politics, policy and power shape pathways into the professional game. In this episode, co-hosts Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro are joined by Sydney Minarik, former Clemson University defender, to discuss elite NCAA Division I women’s soccer, professional opportunities, and her up...

Last Friday's 2026 World Cup draw in Washington DC kicks off a new mini-series running on the FootPol Podcast this season, about debutant nations heading to next year’s tournament. In this first episode, we turn to Uzbekistan — one of the most intriguing first-timers on the global stage. Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro are joined by Donat Iskanderov, a Central Asian groundhopper from Tashk...

Historian and sociologist of football David Goldblatt is back on the podcast to talk to hosts Guy and Francesco about his latest book 'Injury Time. Football in a state of emergency '. David's excellent work discusses how football is an extraordinary tool to understand the recent past in Britain, from Brexit to covid and the various crises associated with the rising cost of living, g...

This week on The FootPol Podcast, we explore the booming world of football tourism, stadium tours, and club museums with expert Felipe Bertazzo Tobar of Clemson University. From the Camp Nou to the Maracanã, Felipe unpacks how football heritage has become a powerful mix of politics, identity, and global business to co-hosts Guy and Francesco. Why do clubs curate their histories the way they do? Ho...

In the latest FootPol Podcast episode, Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at The Open University discusses how football’s deep ties to industry reveal a bigger story about climate change, community identity, and the energy transition. From the coalfields of Fife to the steelworks of Dortmund and Japan’s industrial clubs, football’s roots run through carbon-intensive economies....

Why do millions of Africans passionately support European football clubs they’ve never seen in person? This episode addresses this question in Manase Chiweshe and Solomon Waliaula's recent book African Fans of European Football by exploring how fandom in Africa is reshaping global football culture. From Liverpool murals on Zimbabwean buses to Arsenal “tribes” in Kenya, we unpack how football...

This week on the FootPol Podcast, Rory Magrath of Southampton Solent University joins co-host Guy to unpack LGBTQ+ issues in football. From the late acceptance of LGBTQ+ players and fans in the men’s game to the more welcoming culture in women’s football, Rory explains why attitudes have shifted — and what challenges remain. We also dive into his new book, LGBT Football Fans  (Routledge, 2025), ex...

FootPol is back for a brand new season — and we’re hitting the ground running. In this season opener, we recap the biggest political battles shaping the beautiful game and give you a taste of what’s to come. We start with Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza and the mounting grassroots calls to expel Israel from world football — alongside the deafening silence from FIFA and UEFA. From there, we shift to t...

In the last episode of the seasone, co-hosts Guy and Francesco reflect on a great second season of FootPol, and pick apart some of the main themes from the season. They include conversations about community clubs and inclusivity as well as the relationship between social class and football in the past and present. There's also a look at the number of Asia-related episodes that were produced a...