Everything you need to know about the 2026 OFC Professional League

Описание: Video Podcast: Full preview of the 2026 OFC Pro League, Oceania's first-ever fully professional football competition, plus the best football headlines from Europe, Africa and Asia

In Part 1, Lee and Paul preview the inaugural OFC Pro League – the first fully professional football competition in Oceania’s history – which kicks off in New Zealand on Saturday 17 January. What matches will take place in the first circuit series in Auckland – and where can you watch them? Which team will have to travel the furthest and cross the International Date Line for their fixtures? Who are the standout players to watch out for? And what does the new tournament mean for the future of the OFC Champions League?

In Part 2, there are stories from Europe, Africa and Asia. In Germany, a former Bundesliga coach is managing two McDonald’s restaurants – but what other unusual careers have footballers had after hanging up their boots? At AFCON, Mali have turned to a fetish priest to tip fate in their favour for their game against Tunisia. What on earth is one of those, we hear you ask?! And finally, Japan prepares for its transition to an autumn-spring league. But which J-League club have been royally screwed over by the switch?

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The Sweeper team
• Hosts: Lee Wingate and Paul Watson
• Editor: Ralph Foster

Chapters
00:00 – Intro
04:11 – OFC Pro League: Format & fixtures
08:58 – OFC Pro League: Distances & date lines
13:24 – OFC Pro League: Intriguing individuals
23:23 – OFC Pro League: Concurrent competitions
27:54 – The German ex-coach working at McDonald's
31:32 – Strangest former footballer careers
38:53 – Mali's fetish priest & Gabon's letter
46:03 – Japan's schedule switch & Fukushima United