If you want to consume as much media and punditry as possible during the tournament then these are the 5 best podcasts for you. Each podcast will be releasing content daily (or almost daily) throughout the tournament.
1. The football Ramble
Football coverage with a twist of humor. Episodes are fast-paced and the 4 presenters have developed a really smooth comradery. They manage to pull off the extremely difficult feat of being informative, thought provoking and comedic at the same time. For new listeners, try not to be put off by the amount of ‘in jokes’ – give the Ramble a few weeks and those very same jokes will be the reason you’re getting funny looks for bursting out laughing on the train to work in the morning.
The Football Ramble
2. Football weekly
Presented by the Guardian, football weekly provides in-depth analysis of events on and off the football pitches of Europe. With an array of hosts and guest voices, football weekly is a different bag each episode, keeping the chat fresh and poignant. The guests are never shy of a debate and that is part of the appeal of this podcast because if football were to be labeled as anything then surely ‘controversial’ would be the least controversial choice.
Football Weekly
3. BBC 5 Live World Cup daily
Mark Chapman and Kelly Cates will be presenting a podcast every single day during the World Cup. With the power of the BBC machine behind them, they will gain access to guests and interviews that will take you right into the heart of the action in Russia.
World Cup Daily
4. The Game
A new podcast produced by The Times and presented by Natalie Sawyer. This podcast feels more dry than the aforementioned shows, but with a selection of top football writers and journalists on hand, the content is second to none.
The Game
5. Three beards
For a voice outside of the UK, try Three Beards, a podcast produced and recorded in the USA. The production value is more ‘back bedroom’ than the other podcasts in this list, but the content stands up. With twinges of humor and detailed analysis of all 32 teams participating in Russia this podcast is well worth listening to if you have a long DIY project or a long drive and want to queue up a few episodes to listen to in a row.
Three Beards