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To critique the state of our world, our communities, to critique what is wrong with soccer in late stage capitalism is one thing. It actually isn’t a hard thing. But to dream, think and even plan for a better world, and a better football, that is something different entirely. Alina Schwermer, a young and extremely talented German journalist, has done just that, on 450 pages, in her book Futopia: Ideas for a Better Footballing World. It’s a book about football, and about utopias. About the game and how we can reimagine it, but also about a different, more vibrant and just world. We discuss new rulebooks, a critique of competition and beauty as we now know it, a new financial order for the sport, and some DIY ideas for your local context.

Tune in and, I promise, you will be rewarded and your imagination will be stretched. And you can tell your friends afterwards that you are well ahead of the curve by having listened into this book, because it isn’t translated into English. Not yet.

HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

Alina Schwermer, Futopia (book page and interview in German with the publisher, Werkstatt Verlag)

Futopia on Twitter/X @FussballUtopien

Futopia for purchase in the U.S.

Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.

f you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please

• Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help.
• Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.

Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind

Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/

NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)

Gent in Belgium. Rasgrad in Bulgaria. Mostar in Bosnia. Borås in Sweden. Tiraspol in, well, Moldova. Or Differdange in Luxemburg

If you know where these places are, have some sense of what it looks like there, what the vibe is, perhaps it is because of the early UEFA club competitions' qualifying rounds. It is for me. If it isn't for you yet, it's time it was. I know I’ve often said in the past this podcast is intended to look beyond the big leagues, beyond stars and their goals, but never have we cast the ned so deeply and widely as today. Lee Wingate is the Visiting Professor today, an Englishman who lives in Vienna. He shares with us his deep knowledge of the faraway corners of European football, corners that are on full display during these weeks, because it’s the best season of them all: the qualifying rounds for the European club tournaments are on. How these tournaments work, what countries, teams or scenic grounds to watch out for - listen in.

HELPFUL LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

The Sweeper

UEFA Europa League 2024/25

UEFA Conference League 2024/25

Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.

f you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please

• Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help.
• Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.

Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind

Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/

NEW: send me a text message! (I'd love to hear your thoughts - texts get to me anonymously, without charge or signup)

If you follow a club that plays in the English Premier League, you may have gotten wind of it: over the Summer, quite a few clubs increased their season ticket prices, and phased out - or partially phased out - discounted tickets for kids and seniors, so called concession tickets. And for once, English fans seem to get organized and cooperative in resistance. Wolverhampton, Tottenham and West Ham in particular are the hotspots right now, but there are others, and they are talking. If the fans do this right, you will witness some public action at the start of the season. And good on them. Why does this matter, what vision are the clubs following, and can English fans pull off a successful protest against the robberbaron capitalism of modern soccer like German fans did in Spring? Here to tell us are two fans who are in the trenches of this fight at West Ham United: Andy, from Hammers United, who was with us in season 1 already, and Alex from the campaign #saveourconcessions.

LINKS TO THIS EPISODE:

#saveourconcessions on X/twitter

The petition, Hammers United

Alex' viral video

Please leave a quick voicemail with any feedback, corrections, suggestions - or just greetings - HERE. Or comment via Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.

f you enjoy this podcast and think that what I do fills a gap in soccer coverage that others would be interested in as well, please

• Recommend The Assistant Professor of Football. Spreading the word, through word of mouth, truly does help.
• Leave some rating stars at the podcast platform of your choice. There are so many sports podcasts out there, and only ratings make this project visible; only then can people who look for a different kind of take on European soccer actually find me.

Artwork for The Assistant Professor of Football is by Saige Lind

Instrumental music for this podcast, including the introduction track, is by the artist Ketsa and used under a Creative Commons license through Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/