Football Journeys Podcast

Introducing our colleague Celia Quansah. Not a footballer but a rugby player, a former Heptathlete and an Olympian. We are so proud to present her and her story.

With England's women having won this year's Euros and the Red Roses about to commence their rugby World Cup campaign Celia's story gives a perfect insight into the challenges female athletes face. In lifeskills sessions with young female players she discusses social media, injury, race, sexuality, identity and transition from playing -  and these are all themes she touches on with Matt and her longtime friend Leigh Nicol.

CORRECTION - during the pod Matt talks about an incident in which tennis player Martina Hingis was stabbed by a stalker - it was in fact Monica Seles who was the victim.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business this episode was recorded at their studio next to Wembley Stadium. 

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

A wonderful chat with Fraser's former teammate Karleigh Osborne. A Brentford legend who, like so many, struggled with his mental health during a playing career that spanned 12 clubs and ended early (at the age of 31) owing to injury. His saviour came in an unlikely source when he became manager of the Brentford Women's team. The lessons he learned from his players, after two promotions, have helped him to become a wise and thoughtful man who is now doing tremendous work as a performance coach and mentor.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium. This episode was recorded on Zoom out of necessity.

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

Born in Germany to Congolese parents Hervé Pepe-Ngoma didn't speak English when he moved to Leicester aged 8 but one language he did know was football. He was picked up by Leicester City aged 9 and ended his scholarship as the Academy player of the year. But injury in his first year as a pro cost him dearly and he was released at the end of the season. 

He has had some dark times with injuries and surgeries but he has found his second true love, whilst playing non league football, DJing. He now visits clubs up and down the country telling his story and encouraging young players to be more than just footballers.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium. 

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

Born to a Bajan father who had represented Guyana at cricket it was no surprise that Keith Barker picked up a bat at a young age (he was playing under 13s cricket when he was 6!). But growing up in Manchester, and talented with his feet as well as his hands, his head was turned by football and he signed a scholarship, followed by a pro, with Blackburn Rovers (then an established Premier League side). He went on to play in Belgium with Cercle Brugge, for Rochdale and in Ireland with St Patrick's Athletic, before a stint at Northwich Victoria and his head turned back to cricket. More than 500 first class wickets and 5,000 runs later, he reflects on what both these great sports taught him.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium. This episode was recorded on Zoom out of necessity.

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

Shadab Itikhar, a lad from Preston, fell in love with the strategy of football as a child playing Football Manager. He has had a determination to coach - "I was made to manage" - and, since turning up at Wigan Athletic's training ground seeking a meeting with Roberto Martinez he has worked with the Spaniard (at Wigan and Belgium) and has managed himself in England, Scotland, Mongolia, Pakistan, Samoa and now in Bhutan with Thimpu City. His story is a remarkable one of a dream that he has been determined to make happen.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium. 

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

Andy Morrison will be remembered by most football fans as an outstanding and incredibly tough football player but that doesn't begin to tell even a fraction of his story. Andy suffered trauma as a child and, for a time, alcohol and violence drowned out the noise and damage in his head. In 1999, under the tutelage of Joe Royle and Willie Donachie, he lifted the most important trophy in Manchester City's history, the 1999 Division 2 Play Off, but it was off the pitch where his real triumph was. His last drink was February 1999. He has done so much work on himself and so much to help others, he has worked with prisoners, coached as far afield and continues to inspire and support men, particularly those struggling with alcohol abuse.

If you enjoyed this episode go and buy Andy's book The Good, the Mad and the Ugly. Copies still available online.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium. 

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

A truly inspiring episode with 21 year old Sam Gough. Sam has had sight and hearing issues her entire life which have deteriorated leading to her now being almost completely blind. Sport has been her outlet and, alongside rowing and swimming, she has been hugely successful in blind football becoming only the second person ever born in Scotland to represent England at football.

You can find Sam on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/samantha_gough6/

Or on TikTok here - https://www.tiktok.com/@samanthagough6

This is the whole episode, as a vodcast, of Series 3 Episode 5 of the Football Journeys podcast. We are so grateful, as always, to University Campus of Football Business for their support. This episode, however, was recorded at Outset Studios in London. Most of our episodes will be recorded at UCFB's Media City and Wembley studios.

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

"Farewell to Princess landing stage, River Mersey, fare-thee-well, I am bound for California, A place I know right well"

So sang the Pogues in the Leaving of Liverpool and those words could have been a blueprint for Peter Moore's life. The proud Scouser who ventured to the US, via Wrexham, to live the American Dream. He would later return to Merseyside to become CEO of his beloved Liverpool FC in 2017 but not before stints with Reebok, Sega, Microsoft and EA Sports, appearing on stage with Bill Gates, appearing as a character in South Park and getting a Grand Theft Auto tattoo. It's been one hell of a ride and it was so enjoyable having Peter talk us through it with such good humour.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium.For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

Born with achondroplasia, one of the best known forms of dwarfism, Krysten Coombs never saw anyone that looked like him growing up in Totnes in the South West of England. Sport was his passion and was the thing that helped him to change his big challenge into his superpower. Football is a passion, and he has played with the Dwarf Sports Association and is a passionate fan of Plymouth Argyle, but it was racquet sports, and most particularly badminton, where he has excelled culminating in a magical final in the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Krysten is so open and speaks about some of the key challenges that face people with dwarfism. We talk about language, Game of Thrones, panto, social media, rooming with your main rival and the joy of sport. It's a truly beautiful episode.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!

In the early 1980s Allan Cockram made two appearances for Tottenham Hotspur in a midfield featuring Hoddle, Ardiles and Perryman but it's not his football achievements, notable as they are, that make Allan a special man, it is his work after his playing career.

Running the Brentford Penguins, the club's Down's Syndrome team, has brought him deserved acclaim, and a Grierson Award for the documentary Mighty Penguins, but he doesn't stop there a women's over 40s walking football team and a men's over 55s walking team, are just a couple of examples of how he brings joy and love and uses football as a vehicle for something so much more meaningful. This episode is so special, just listen and enjoy.

This series we are partnering with University Campus of Football Business and have recorded episodes at their Media City studios in Salford and at their studio next to Wembley Stadium

For more information on UCFB visit their website here - https://www.ucfb.ac.uk/

You can follow us on our social media @journeyspod on Instagram and Threads and we're still hanging around on X for a while! You might even find us on TikTok too!