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
Insta-FootPol. What's up with England's new football shirt? ft. Alex Ireland
In this brand new bonus edition format, Guy and Francesco explore topical issues around football that have a political dimension with the help of an expert. In this episode, Alex Ireland, football writer and football kits connoisseur, talks about England's new football shirt. Nike's decision to put a multi-coloured St George's cross - the symbol on the English flag - has created a lot of discussion and led to calls to restore the traditional colours. Alex explains why this has happened, what's behind the politicians' comments and whether there have been similar outbursts both in relation to previous England shirts as well as those of other national football teams.
Alex is the author of Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt which is available here. Alex previously appeared on the FootPol Podcast, talking about football kits and his book in November 2023. The episode is available here.
