Tibet’s men’s and women’s national football teams, the Tibetan diaspora and football beyond FIFA are at the center of this episode of Why We Love This Club.

Chris Horwedel explores how Tibetan football has become a way for a dispersed community to preserve identity, create gathering places and represent itself on an international stage. Based largely in Dharamshala, India, Tibet’s teams are not FIFA members and instead compete through independent tournaments and organizations such as CONIFA.

The story traces the men’s representative team from the Gyalyum Chenmo Memorial Gold Cup to the landmark 2001 match against Greenland in Copenhagen, where Lobsang Norbu scored Tibet’s first widely documented international goal. It also follows later appearances at the FIFI Wild Cup and CONIFA World Football Cup.

The episode then turns to the growth of Tibetan women’s football, from early girls’ programs and Tibet Women’s Soccer to the 2022 CONIFA Women’s World Football Cup in India. Captain Jamyang Chotso’s remarkable journey and Ngawang Oetso’s historic goal highlight a program built despite limited resources, travel restrictions and few regular fixtures.

More than results, Tibet’s teams are about belonging. School grounds, settlement pitches and borrowed stadiums become temporary homes where players and supporters can gather around a shared identity.

Football cannot resolve exile or politics—but it can give scattered people a team to recognize and a place to say their name out loud.

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Check out the show's website for an interactive map with all current teams, and suggest a club.

If you enjoyed this show, you may like these other soccer podcasts by Chris.

The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered

The Underdog Football Show

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raja Club Athletic, Casablanca football, African club history and one of the world’s most passionate supporter cultures are at the center of this episode of Why We Love This Club.

Chris Horwedel tells the story of Raja Casablanca, founded in 1949 in the working-class district of Derb Sultan during Morocco’s struggle against colonial rule. The club’s name means hope, and Raja grew into the “People’s Club,” known for green and white, expressive attacking football and the tradition supporters call L’école Raja.

The episode traces Raja’s rise into an African powerhouse, including three continental championships, legendary players such as Abdelmajid Dolmy and the unforgettable 2013 FIFA Club World Cup run. Raja defeated Auckland City, Monterrey and Ronaldinho’s Atlético Mineiro before reaching the final against Bayern Munich.

Chris also explores the extraordinary Casablanca Derby against Wydad, the Curva Sud Magana, Raja’s politically and socially expressive supporter culture and the club’s modern struggle to balance investment, stability and its identity as a mass public institution.

From Derb Sultan to a world final, Raja turned hope into history—and made sure the world could hear it.

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Check out the show's website for an interactive map with all current teams, and suggest a club.

If you enjoyed this show, you may like these other soccer podcasts by Chris.

The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered

The Underdog Football Show

Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colo-Colo Femenino, Chilean women’s football and the Copa Libertadores Femenina are at the center of this episode of Why We Love This Club.

Chris Horwedel tells the story of the women’s side of Colo-Colo, from its launch in 2007 to becoming the dominant force in Chile. Las Albas won ten consecutive domestic championships beginning in 2010, establishing a standard few clubs in South America could match.

The centerpiece is the 2012 Copa Libertadores Femenina, when 21-year-old goalkeeper Christiane Endler helped Colo-Colo defeat Brazil’s Foz Cataratas on penalties and become the first club from outside Brazil to win the competition. That victory also made Colo-Colo one of the rare South American institutions to win the continent’s biggest club competition in both men’s and women’s football.

The episode also explores Colo-Colo’s continued domestic success, the rise of rivals such as Universidad de Chile and Santiago Morning, the professionalization of women’s football in Chile and the campaign to ensure the women’s 2012 Libertadores is remembered alongside the men’s famous 1991 triumph.

Chile has two Libertadores. Colo-Colo’s women won one of them.

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Check out the show's website for an interactive map with all current teams, and suggest a club.

If you enjoyed this show, you may like these other soccer podcasts by Chris.

The Beautiful Game: Unfiltered

The Underdog Football Show

Thanks for listening!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.