The World Cup Show
Encyclopedia
Football Weekly is a podcast
about football
, hosted by The Guardian
newspaper in the United Kingdom
. Originally provided weekly (as its name suggests), its popularity lead to a mid-weekly spinoff, Football Weekly Extra. Football Weekly airs on Mondays during the European football season, after the weekend's fixtures, while Football Weekly Extra airs most regularly on a Wednesday or a Thursday - the airdate is contingent upon the dates of the midweek European football fixtures. During the Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 tournaments, the podcast was provided daily.
It is presented by James Richardson
, who is joined by various Guardian
journalists and correspondents, most regularly Barry Glendenning
, who is often mistakenly referred to as a co-host. Despite being an English
production, the show takes a notably Eurocentric view of world football matters. Particular emphasis is placed on the Premier League, La Liga
, Serie A
and the Bundesliga
.
The show is noted for its irreverent, often iconoclastic, style and mood. Although it adheres to a traditional sports chat show format, the presenters are encouraged to digress on matters unrelated to football and to divulge marginal information from the industry normally withheld from print. As such, its level of discussion is often anecdotal, fragmentary and partial. This is in stark contrast to the normal procedures of professional sports journalism
, and is a rarity among sports chat shows in general. Listener-generated jingles introducing presenters and knowingly bad sound effects were previously used but have been phased out.
The highest recorded number of listeners to the pod is 378,000; though the number is often quoted at 150,000 listeners.
- the UK's main national radio awards. The podcast ran throughout Euro 2008 as Football Daily, with Richardson and Glendenning hosting from Vienna
, joined by the usual assortment of guests.
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
about football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, hosted by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Originally provided weekly (as its name suggests), its popularity lead to a mid-weekly spinoff, Football Weekly Extra. Football Weekly airs on Mondays during the European football season, after the weekend's fixtures, while Football Weekly Extra airs most regularly on a Wednesday or a Thursday - the airdate is contingent upon the dates of the midweek European football fixtures. During the Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 tournaments, the podcast was provided daily.
It is presented by James Richardson
James Richardson (television presenter)
James "AC Jimbo" Richardson is a television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a former presenter of Channel 4's Football Italia programme and co-presenter of Setanta Sports' The Friday Football Show and Football Matters...
, who is joined by various Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
journalists and correspondents, most regularly Barry Glendenning
Barry Glendenning
Barry Glendenning is an Irish sports journalist who currently holds the position of deputy sports editor on the Guardian Unlimited website run by the UK newspaper The Guardian. He is perhaps best known for his work on Guardian Unlimited's football podcast Football Weekly hosted by James Richardson...
, who is often mistakenly referred to as a co-host. Despite being an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
production, the show takes a notably Eurocentric view of world football matters. Particular emphasis is placed on the Premier League, La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
, Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
and the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
.
The show is noted for its irreverent, often iconoclastic, style and mood. Although it adheres to a traditional sports chat show format, the presenters are encouraged to digress on matters unrelated to football and to divulge marginal information from the industry normally withheld from print. As such, its level of discussion is often anecdotal, fragmentary and partial. This is in stark contrast to the normal procedures of professional sports journalism
Sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...
, and is a rarity among sports chat shows in general. Listener-generated jingles introducing presenters and knowingly bad sound effects were previously used but have been phased out.
Origin and Listening Figures
The podcast began on May 11, 2006 as The World Cup Show, produced daily throughout the 2006 World Cup, and returned during the season under its new name on August 29, 2006, due to popular demand.The highest recorded number of listeners to the pod is 378,000; though the number is often quoted at 150,000 listeners.
Sony Award Nomination
In April 2008 Football Weekly was nominated for Sports Programme of the Year in the annual Sony Radio Academy AwardsSony Radio Academy Awards
The Sony Radio Academy Awards , started in 1983, are some of the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. They are run by ZAFER Associates in association with the Radio Academy...
- the UK's main national radio awards. The podcast ran throughout Euro 2008 as Football Daily, with Richardson and Glendenning hosting from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, joined by the usual assortment of guests.
Regular cast
- James RichardsonJames Richardson (television presenter)James "AC Jimbo" Richardson is a television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a former presenter of Channel 4's Football Italia programme and co-presenter of Setanta Sports' The Friday Football Show and Football Matters...
(host) - Kevin McCarraKevin McCarraKevin McCarra is a Scottish sportswriter and chief football correspondent for The Guardian newspaper. He often appears on the Guardian Podcast Football Weekly hosted by James Richardson. He previously worked at Scotland on Sunday, The Sunday Times and The Times...
(chief football writer for The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
) - Barry GlendenningBarry GlendenningBarry Glendenning is an Irish sports journalist who currently holds the position of deputy sports editor on the Guardian Unlimited website run by the UK newspaper The Guardian. He is perhaps best known for his work on Guardian Unlimited's football podcast Football Weekly hosted by James Richardson...
- Sean IngleSean IngleSean Ingle is a British journalist. He has been a Sports Editor at Guardian Unlimited since 2000, specializing in football. He is best known as a regular contributor to the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, where his extensive and often unconvincing analogies are affectionately indulged by both...
- Jacob Steinberg
- Paul DoylePaul Doyle (journalist)Paul Doyle is an Irish sportswriter for the British newspaper The Guardian. He is the chief sports writer for Guardian Unlimited, the paper's website. He regularly appears on the Guardian Podcast Football Weekly, hosted by James Richardson, where he often gives updates on the latest news in French...
(French football correspondent) - Sid LoweSid LoweSimon Lowe, better known as Sid Lowe, is a Madrid-based British columnist who has been covering Spanish football for The Guardian newspaper and Guardian Unlimited website since 2001...
(Spanish football correspondent) - Raphael HonigsteinRaphael HonigsteinRaphael Honigstein, a native of Bavaria, is a German journalist and author. Before becoming a journalist he studied law. Honigstein is currently the English football correspondent for the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, and German football correspondent for the British newspaper The Guardian...
(German football correspondent) - Fernando Duarte (Brazilian football correspondent)
- Philippe Auclair
- Paolo BandiniPaolo BandiniPaolo Bandini is a British-Italian sports journalist, who has been writing for guardian.co.uk and The Guardian since 2004. He writes weekly columns on Italian football for guardian.co.uk and Canadian media company The Score, as well as on the NFL for guardian.co.uk. He is a regular guest on the...
(Italian football correspondent) - Leander Schaerlaeckens (Dutch football correspondent)
- Marcela Mora y Araujo (Argentinian footballFootball in ArgentinaFootball in Argentina is the most popular sport, the one with the most players and is the most popular recreational sport, played from childhood into old age...
correspondent) - Jonathan WilsonJonathan Wilson (journalist/author)Jonathan Wilson is a British sports journalist and author who writes for a number of publications including the Guardian, the Independent and Sports Illustrated. He is a columnist for World Soccer and is the founder and editor of The Blizzard...
(Eastern European football correspondent) - Tom Lutz
- Gregg Bukowski
- Amy Lawrence
- Scott Murray
- Rob Smyth
- Barney Ronay
- John Ashdown
- Matt Scott
- James Dart
- Owen Gibson
- Michael Cox (football blogger)