The most-played match in world football has been contested nearly 1,000 times – yet most fans have never heard of it.

Join us on a journey to a tropical corner of the planet as we uncover a rivalry first played in 1914… and still being contested today.

Who are the two teams involved? Why have they faced each other so often – an average of seven times a year for over a century? And what could finally slow this extraordinary fixture down in 2026?

Next, we explore the remarkable story of a top-flight club who have not lost a league game since before the pandemic. How have they stayed unbeaten for so long – and why, despite that run, are they still not the most dominant team in world football?

Finally, we turn to the international game and the national team hoping to represent what could become the world’s newest country in 2027. But if independence comes, will they be welcomed into the global football family – or left waiting on the sidelines?

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

01:14 – The world’s most-played fixture

11:21 – Other contenders for the title

14:45 – The longest unbeaten run in history

22:00 – Around The World in 80 Clubs

25:30 – The world’s newest national team?

Bougainville – A New Country: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/126735-000-A/arte-reportage/

Around The World in 80 Clubs: https://geni.us/WorldIn80Clubs

A sleepy town of 22,000 people in southern Slovakia is home to a top-flight football club that is challenging for national titles and boasts an ultra-modern, sleek stadium that is entirely out of step with its surroundings – thanks to money from abroad.

We paid a visit to Dunajská Streda to watch local team DAC 1904 play domestic giants Slovan Bratislava in a top-of-the table clash in Slovakia. But this was no ordinary game. It was the most politically charged football match we’ve ever seen.

The reason for that lies far beyond the football pitch. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is funding clubs in neighbouring countries as part of a broader political strategy – one that may help him win re-election in April and shape the balance of power in the EU.

Elsewhere, the Copa Libertadores is reportedly preparing to invite guest clubs from Mexico and the US to participate in the competition starting in 2027, while Chinese football has hit a new low after nine of the Super League’s 16 clubs were deducted points.

Chapters

00:00 - Intro

01:49 - Live game: DAC 1904 v Slovan Bratislava

14:32 - Viktor Orbán's political power play

21:18 - Copa Libertadores guest invitations

23:04 - Analysis from Jon Arnold

25:59 - China's Super League low point

27:21 - Analysis from John Duerden

Sources for the lead story

Atlatszo: https://english.atlatszo.hu/2018/12/11/the-orban-government-spent-billions-on-hungarian-football-clubs-in-serbia-romania-and-slovakia

Balkan Insight: https://balkaninsight.com/2025/07/08/hungary-and-croatia-build-stadium-for-e7-5-million-in-village-of-500-inhabitants

Denník: https://dennikn.sk/1380564/bolo-to-ako-vojna-bitka-policajtov-s-fanusikmi-dunajskej-stredy-po-ktorej-sa-zmenil-zakon/

Radio Free Europe: https://www.rferl.org/a/hungary-orban-sport-influence-romania/31977287.html

Salzburger Nachrichten:https://www.sn.at/sport/fussball/international/dac-dunajska-streda-orbans-aushaengeschild-in-der-slowakei-art-371392

Qarabağ have made Champions League history this season, becoming the first Azerbaijani club to ever reach the knockout stages of the competition – and setting up a play-off tie against Premier League team Newcastle United.

Their run has come at a time of dramatic geopolitical change in the South Caucasus, with the club preparing to return to their hometown of Ağdam after spending more than three decades in exile in the capital Baku.

Elsewhere, Bodø/Glimt stunned the continent by qualifying for the knockouts despite not playing domestic football since November, while Benfica hit the headlines with a goalkeeper goal and a viral TV interview from a local priest.

Club Brugge also progressed through the league phase, but that will not be the enduring memory of their season for three fans who accompanied the team to Kazakhstan and ended up in jail in one of the strangest away-day stories of the season.

Ghost Cities FC by James Montague for the BBC: www.bbc.com/audio/play/p0lxg7xy

Chapters

00:00 – Intro

00:41 – Qarabağ's historic Champions League run

02:01 – A story of exile and homecoming

07:22 – Soft power and state support

10:50 – The secret to their sporting success

14:37 – The challenges ahead: Newcastle and Sabah

17:02 – Patreon preview: Chapecoense and South America

18:33 – Another milestone for Bodø/Glimt

21:45 – Benfica's keeper goal and priest interview

26:07 – Brugge's congratulations and Borat arrests