The FootPol Podcast
The podcast that brings together football and politics. We'll be exploring the relationship between the two, both inside and outside the game.
The podcast covers "Big Politics" like politicians, clubs, international and national federations and other organised groups and how they use or abuse the game to "Small, Everyday Politics" in the form of community-level clubs, fan associations and the way that football reflects the political challenges of our day to day lives.
The FootPol Podcast is brought to you by co-hosts Drs Francesco Belcastro and Guy Burton.
The FootPol Podcast
Pasión, Politics & the Pitch: Spain's Football Journey ft. Miguel Lourenço Pereira
In this episode, Guy and Francesco welcome back friend of the pod Miguel Lourenço Pereira to talk about his new book Pasión: A Journey to the Soul of Spanish Football (out 21 April from Pitch Publishing).
Together, they dive into the political, cultural, and social undercurrents that have shaped Spanish football—from Franco’s regime using the sport as soft propaganda to the democratic era’s subtler, but still strategic, engagement with the game.
They explore how ownership models shifted in the late 1980s and early 1990s and what that meant for the sport's structure and soul. Miguel also sheds light on the role of national and regional identities in shaping clubs, fan bases, and rivalries, as well as the impact of demographic change—from inland depopulation to coastal booms, and the rise of second-generation stars like Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal.
It’s a deep, passionate look at how fútbol reflects and refracts the story of modern Spain.
