Football podcasts worthy of a title win

Millions around the world are finding new ways to receive their much-needed football fix whilst away from the stands.

Football related podcasts are on the rise, with numerous former football stars taking to the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube to create audio-based content for football lovers to enjoy.

Now, let’s go through some of the best football podcasts and see if we can find your next favourite listen.

Firstly, ‘The Overlap’ by Gary Neville is a great listen for anyone with an interest in football, politics, business and world sport.  

Hosted by former Manchester United superstar and current Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, The Overlap sees Neville speak to some of the biggest names in world sport. He asks them about what drives them to play sport, their early careers and their vulnerabilities.

Some big names to grace his podcast include Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Alan Shearer, Harry Kane and Declan Rice as well as other sportspeople including Tyson Fury, Antony Joshua and Dina Asher - the fastest British woman in history.

Secondly, ‘The Fozcast’ is a newly established weekly podcast, led by recently retired Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster. Joined by his good friend and co-host Tom Ochoa, the pair speak to weekly football related guests in a knowledgeable yet entertaining and humorous fashion.

Some of their biggest guests so far have included the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Troy Deeney, Ian Wright and David Seaman who are all either current or former professional footballers, all with fascinating stories to tell.

Finally, ‘That Peter Crouch Podcast’ is another weekly podcast that focuses on the stories of ex-Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City striker Peter Crouch.

The former Premier League ever-present delves deep into an array of football-based topics such as contracts, managers, relegations and the off-season as well as inviting popular football personnel to discuss topics and share their own stories to the fans of the podcast.

Now we’ve discussed a few examples, I spoke to Barnsley College student Ben Connolly is a lifelong Barnsley fan and regular podcast listener.

“When it comes to football podcasts it’s hard to pick a favourite,” he began. “Although I’d say that the one I listen to the most is Undr he Cosh because because I like the comedy aspect of it.”

Undr The Cosh have amassed over 900 five-star ratings on Spotify and are becoming one of the most popular football podcasts on the web. Ben states that his love for the podcast comes mainly from co-host Jon Parkin’s locality.

“Under the cosh is a favourite because big Jon Parkin is a Barnsley lad. He very much reminds me of me and how I see a lot of things, not to mention that he speaks just like us and knows what it means to be from where we are. He has the tough guy view on things and will often speak out about something he doesn’t like.”

Ben listens to many of the other podcasts we have already covered, showing that the younger generation are perhaps the most frequent listeners of football podcasts.

“I also listen to The Fozcast, The Overlap, Football Daily, The Peter Crouch Podcast and more. They all add a different side to a story even if they’re talking about the same subject.”

“The Fozcast is affective because you saw what he did while he played as Cycling GK so we almost got to go on that journey with him. A lot of the time you wouldn’t really see a goalkeeper’s perspective because most of us would want to be an outfield player growing up and I think the The Fozcast will tap into a younger audience and give them an interest in becoming a goalkeeper.”

“I enjoy The Overlap because Gary Neville is quite often a passionate and controversial character - A lot of people don’t like him, and he knows that. The things he talks about often have a lot of meaning and passion behind them because that is how he was as a player and as a human, so it makes for a good listen.”