The FootPol Podcast

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, including Iran, the episode explores the political fallout for the tournament co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, the financial and sporting penalties Iran could face if it withdraws, and the contrasting silence from FIFA and UEFA when compared to their quick sanctioning of Russia after it invaded Ukraine. They also unpack the controversial relationship between Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino and probe whether other nations or fans might protest or boycott the World Cup

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 Lisbon, to analyse the country’s rise ahead of fixtures against Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
How did an Atlantic island nation of just over half a million people emerge as one of Africa’s most intriguing football stories? The discussion traces the game’s development from the colonial era under Portuguese rule through independence in 1975 and into the present, showing how football became embedded in national identity, state formation and diaspora politics. The episode explores Cabo Verde’s distinctive island-based league system, the decisive influence of migration and the Cape Verdean diaspora in Portugal and the Netherlands, debates over representation in the national team and the rapid expansion of women’s football. We also assess what World Cup qualification means for national pride, postcolonial identity and the wider visibility of Lusophone Africa on the global stage.

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 rising professional league and Saudi Arabia’s rapid investment drive to grassroots struggles in Lebanon and structural shifts in Egypt and Jordan, Assile provides insight on the regional federations' politics, FIFA mandates, social barriers, media visibility and the battle for professionalisation. 
Assile explores how parental attitudes, club models, infrastructure gaps and global sponsorship are shaping the future of the sport — and why Morocco and Saudi Arabia may be bellwethers for women’s football development in the region. If you’re interested in women’s football, Middle East sport politics and the future of the global game, this episode provides essential context beyond the headlines.
Do also check out Assile's SuperSubs Instagram account, which covers women's football in the Middle East.

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 FIFA’s alignment with Donald Trump to visa regimes, immigration enforcement and security-heavy hosting models. Focusing on Latin American perspectives, the discussion explores rivalries, national memory, diaspora fandom and the risk that surveillance, ticket pricing and border controls could suppress the carnival atmosphere that defines World Cups. With Mexico navigating a secondary hosting role, US venues poised to dominate the later stages and Canada largely out of the spotlight, the episode asks whether 2026 will be remembered as a festival of football — or a case study in how power, politics and security reshape the world’s biggest sporting event.

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 how the women’s game, futsal and volunteer-led governance fit together. With a restructured National League on the way, a men’s World Cup approaching and women’s football continuing to build after the 2023 World Cup, the conversation explores a game on the rise — becoming more organised and professional, while still negotiating the pull of local identity, accessibility, and community culture.