Welcome to This Sporting Planet, your definitive source for The World’s View of Sports! πποΈ This week, we continue our 2024 review, bringing you the most remarkable stories from the middle of the year!
Join Natalie Sawyer (UK), Todd Harris (USA), and Edward Russell (Singapore) as they cover:
π Afghanistan’s Incredible Cricket Journey:
Reflecting on Afghanistan’s remarkable run at the T20 World Cup, reaching the semi-finals against all odds! π¦π«
Hear from “The Voice of Afghanistan Cricket” Devender Kumar on how cricket unites a nation and the challenges for women’s cricket under the current regime.
The raw emotion of their victories and the incredible talent of stars like Rashid Khan and rising youngsters.
β³ Golf’s Dominant Displays & Future Debates:
American men’s golf reigns supreme in the Majors: Scottie Scheffler’s composure, Xander Schauffele’s double major wins, and Bryson DeChambeau’s power.
Women’s golf in Asia is booming! π We celebrate champions like Nelly Korda, Amy Yang, Yuka Saso, Ayaka Furue, and Lydia Ko.
Stacy Lewis, US Solheim Cup captain, shares her view on golf’s current state, including the PGA Tour / LIV Golf fracture and the call for modernisation (like baseball’s pitch clock!).
β½ Global Football & US Influence:
Reviewing European domestic league winners: Manchester City (record 4th PL title), Real Madrid, and PSG.
The influx of American ownership in European football (Burnley, Birmingham, Wrexham – Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney!), and Europe’s mixed reactions to US investment.
The final iterations of the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League, featuring Central Coast Mariners’ historic win and the inspiring story of Alou Kuol!
Plus, Cricket in the USA! πΊπΈ
The T20 World Cup in the USA marked a significant step forward for cricket’s growth in America, with Major League Cricket and prominent players like Jason Roy and Ricky Ponting getting involved.
This episode is packed with expert analysis and unforgettable moments! π§
Get ready for a fun trip around the world of sports! π²
What we’re chatting about:
00:00 – 1:57: Introduction
01:57 – 07:30: How is the European football season consumed across the world? Ft. Real Madrid & Jude Bellingham
07:30 – 16:30: Analysis of Bayer Leverkusen’s fairytale run to the Bundesliga title
16:30 – 20:31: Other footballing stories from early 2024
20:31 – 24:30: Golf in 2024
24:30 – 33:53: Reflecting on the 2024 Solheim Cup with winning US Captain Stacy Lewis
33:53 – 45:31: Cricket World Cup, including Afghanistan’s remarkable run to the semi-finals
45:31 – 47:53: AOB
#2024 #sports #podcast #sportspodcast #fyp #bayerleverkusen #golf #cricket #solheimcup #lpga #afghanistancricket #football #bundesliga #t20worldcup2024 #sportspodcast , #globalsports , #2024review , #afcon2024 , #nfl , #wnba , #wrexham , #FootballOwnership, #bayerleverkusen , #bundesliga , #golf , #womensgolf , #SolheimCup, #cricket , #t20worldcup2024 , #AFCAFC, #AmericanOwners, #europeanfootball
Welcome to This Sporting Planet, your new home for global sports talk! Join Natalie Sawyer, Todd Harris, and Edward Russell as they bring you the world of sport directly to your doorstep via podcast. You can also find us on **social media** and YouTube to keep up with the latest!
β½ Football (soccer) π² https://bit.ly/41A1vKf
π Football (NFL) π² https://bit.ly/4ibO22k
π₯ Olympic & Paralympic Games π² https://bit.ly/41Y1H5V
ποΈ Formula 1 π² https://bit.ly/4hrg9JK
π Basketball π² https://bit.ly/3FD5FJR
βΎ Baseball π² https://bit.ly/4iApzUc
ποΈ Golf π² https://bit.ly/3FyQ122
πΎ Tennis π² https://bit.ly/4iC4au1
π Cricket π² https://bit.ly/3FDfojm
π₯ Boxing π² https://bit.ly/4hd7kmw
hello and welcome to this sporting Planet your global view of sport from London I’m Natalie Sawyer and coming to you state side I’m Todd Harris and from Singapore I’m Edward Russell this is the brand new podcast where we bring you the world with sport directly to your doorstep you can check us out on social media listen wherever you get your podcast and also watch us on YouTube there’s even a website for you to check out just head to this sporting planet.com this episode we’re continuing our review of 2024 will reflect on Afghanistan’s remarkable run at the T20 World Cup the biggest golfing stories from the last 12 months including an American win at the solheim cup and who shown at the end of the domestic football season in Europe well this is the second part of our review of sport in 2024 and if you’re starting here make sure you head back and listen to our first episode where we spoke about the NFL playoffs the Super Bowl Swift Mania and ivory coasts a win against the odds that the Africa Cup of Nations now we’re beginning to move towards the middle of the Year where does the sporting attention turn in your regions Ed let’s start with you yeah well just as we had the conclusion of the European football seasons we had the conclusion of the Asian football seasons as well the finals of the AFC Cup and the AFC champions league both the final iterations of those tournaments before uh they change t for 2025 all right Todd what about you what are you going to bring us well from the USA it’s got to be golf golf and more golf at this time of year Major League Baseball starts and the NBA wraps up its regular season but from April to May golf captures the attention of us sports fans in 2024 American men dominated the majors and there was drama on and off the course lots to look forward to we’re also going to round up some of the cricket with the T20 World Cup American interest interesting interestingly for us to to focus on as well Todd a little bit later on but you mentioned it there Ed we got to talk about the football haven’t we because the European football of course came to a close as spring turns to Summer not going to talk about the Euros that’s for another pod a little bit later on but the domestic football seasons of course came to a close with new or perhaps very familiar names Crown champions in the likes of the Premier League Bundesliga and La Liga as well uh and it was a case of deja vu here in the Premier League Manchester City winning the Premier League for a record fourth time in a row no team has ever achieved that feat in the Top Flight of English football remarkable what Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City team have been able to achieve uh and also elsewhere we should point out Real Madrid winning a 36th La Liga title and in and in France Paris San gerain made it 12 titles with their win in League a but it’s really interesting to know I suppose where European football stands in America Todd because obviously there’s the boom of football or soccer in America now so is there still as much interest as there might well have been in the past oh I think so and then some Natalie I think the fact that it is really considered the best of the best when you talk at the talk about the Premier League and and what they do and the talent they have there and of course across all of Europe um with Liga and you go to Germany you go to France I mean Spain everything there’s just so much good football or soccer over there and and I think one of the big stories that we’ll be talking about maybe a lot in 2025 will be the influx of American owners and influence I mean I think of what’s happening in team that’s in the championship right now with Burnley with Allan Pace as a chairman there and he’s bringing in not only investors from around the world but bigname investors like JJ Watt former NFL player and so I think the influx of Americans with money is also turned the influx of Americans with eyeballs and uh I know here in the states we get a lot of Premier League a lot of La Liga uh on our regular channels so I I think it’s going to continue to be a big story and again everyone always wants to see the best of the best I think what interesting when you mentioned the American ownership side of things coming over to to England it’s not just the Premier League that they’re interested yes Burnley now are in the the championship they were in the Premier League not that long ago as well but you’ve got Birmingham with American owners Todd Tom Brady involved in that one and let’s not forget what’s happening at rexam as well with welcome re exactly Ryan Reynolds and Rob meleni they are putting eyes on not just the Premier League Ed but beyond that the football league as well yeah they seem to like a good project as well or they seem to like being able to buy cheap and then selling High I I don’t know know what it is but yeah some real fairy tale stories and of course when you talk about rexam and the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Rob mcen they’ve got that entertainment experience much like we saw with Netflix um and they turning Formula 1 into this massive entertainment product not just a sport product um The Americans really seem to be really really skilled at bringing eyeballs to a sport and making it into a Hollywood movie I guess and Real Madrid as we mentioned Todd winning that 36th title and it was Jude bellingham’s first season at the club at just 20 years old coming into a club like Real Madrid who are just so incredible have that rich rich history not just in La Liga but on the champions league and the European front as well he finished the season as top scorer for Real Madrid in the league I think it was 19 goals clearly no no issue dealing with being a galactico and the pressure that comes with that yeah and the youth you touched on it just how young he is and how poised he is he plays I know the fans for the English national team wish he could do the same thing for them and they could bring it home but uh I I think it’s going to be interesting to see the I want say the onslaught but the introduction of Youth I mean we saw a little bit of that at the Euros um just the talent level and how young these athletes are getting and being put on the biggest stages I mean we’re talking 16 year olds performing on the biggest stages Jude Bellingham at 20 21 it just seems like wow but then that makes me think how long can they go are they going to get burned out I mean we’re seeing at the end of lonel Messi’s career as it’s coming to a close in Miami now now he’s going to go out with a proverbial golden parachute but uh it’s been quite a career and I and I see we talked about this in one of the earlier episodes about the handoff in sports we see we’re seeing it in tennis are we now going to see it in football and soccer we’re seeing kilan mbappe still very much a young man of course struggling a little bit Real Madrid since he moved over just on the subject to JW Bellingham from an English perspective Natalie do you feel that one of the reasons why he’s able to prosper there is because he’s away from the glare of the British media I think it’s a good point I think that’s a really good point actually I think he I think it also helps that sort of the way he’s been brought up the fact that his I think his mom lives with him in Spain whereas his dad stays over here with his younger brother Joe Bellingham who’s at Sunderland I think that helps as well I think he’s just got the right people around him making sure that he stays relatively grounded it’s very difficult when you’re that galactico status that he’s now earned himself um but yeah I think they also helps that he’s got away from the the Limelight over here and we have no idea what he gets up to on his days off because we don’t have the paparazzi bringing us those pictures and maybe that’s partly because they’re not interested so much in in Spain either so we don’t see it um but I think it has helped and I think it also helps to show others you can do this too in the sense of it’s good to move abroad it’s good to try something new yeah it’s great to have people backing you and and giving you that support like he has with his family but if you have that chance who knows what you can go on to achieve and look he went to Germany first didn’t he from Birmingham and uh of course we didn’t even mention the Bundesliga which which was one of the most exciting stories from Europe in 2024 when B leusen secured the Bundesliga title in a season where they went unbeaten for the whole campaign jackw Stanley has been speaking to sport Bill journalist Philip aens who’s covered lausin for the best part of two decades and they began by discussing how important football is for that part of the country what kind of place does football hold in the hearts of just your local lausan fan or local lusen resident yeah lusen is a city with 160,000 inhabitants very uh connected to uh the buyer company the farmer company you know they called the The Works of the factory team and uh of course the buyer the the the company is also the club here so there was a really close relationship between the factory and the football team and this yeah and this year this culated and uh the whole city went crazy and uh weeks before the game against wether bran when they became Champion the city was dressed in in black and red and even the the street behind the stadium uh um which is the big bismar sta was renamed in shabi Alonzo Al and yeah this is quite interesting and um yeah so you can see there was a great hunger of being champion German Champion for the first time because as I mentioned they were so close so many times and and this year uh they’ve done it that day when leusen secured the tit against Vera bremond can you just take us to the city take us inside what were the celebrations like what was it like to be there and as lusen won that famous title yeah was the four 14th of April a really warm Sunday afternoon and uh as I mentioned the bismar STA the shabi Alonzo La uh this is the the street the road where the bus is coming to the stadium every G game and here in lusen the fans in the last years uh made uh some bus receptions with fireworks and pyrot Technic and uh even when the team was struggling a relegation battle two years ago when when shabi Alonzo came which is quite astonishing as well when he took over you Leverkusen was in 17th position which is unbelievable to say uh but this bus reception on this day it was unbelievable about 10,000 people on the streets even more and uh fireworks were flying and the bus was not even able to pass and um yeah it was something like a carnival in in summer here in the reinland we have the big carnival in in February or March but this was football Carnival and you you you could uh feel there was something special on this day and it should have happened on this day you know on the day before if Bayern Munich would have lost against cologne if would stutgart have would lost against Frankfurt they would have become German Champions on the sofa and nobody wanted this everybody wanted to have it in their own stadium on on their own Victory and so yeah at it was this day and uh 14th of April was the beginning of a new era in German Football I think if we could zoom out a little bit have you noticed a more International um appeal of leusen in the last year and and you know journalists getting interested in what the club are doing and and potentially people like me asking you to have a chat about it and if you have noticed that what’s that been like for for you and for the club yeah personally I can say that a lot of journalists from all over the world ask me what has happened in lusen which has never been uh before like this and uh of course the club uh made uh two trophy tours they went to the US they went to Brazil taking the trophies with them and because they have a good uh great a great Brazilian Community because of the tradition with two 24 players from Brazil coming to lusen and in even in in the United States in New York uh German Football is uh admired and um I think maybe leusen is more admired abroad than in Germany because he Leverkusen is still in Germany by a lot of fans called the plastic club uh uh a factory club and um this is something u in in in abroad it’s a it’s a normal Club because liver had a great story about with with with great players like balak Lucio Rudy F all over the years as I said maybe in in outside Germany um this achievement is more admired than in Germany itself pppo thank you so much for joining us on this sporting planet was a pleasure for me thank you very much and for more from that interview with Philip aens you can check it out on our this sporting planet YouTube and on our website uh the headline of the article is nusen no more and that is what is so remarkable about this story because mocked by your Rivals five times a runner up you’ve been called neus and to not only then go and finally win that Bundesliga title for the first time but you do it as an invincible Ed you know what it’s like to support an invincible side it’s quite incredible it is and I just loved that team spirit as well and very much like that Arsenal team uh they never knew when they were down and out so many occasions where it looked like the Run might come to an end where they might pick up their first loss of the season and they just believed in themselves and out of nowhere they were able to come back and I think that team spirit was really instilled by jabby Alonso and and really highlighted by the fact that he decided to stay when there was so much demand for him from Liverpool and he came out didn’t he and said I decided to stay at lausen because the players have given me so many reasons as a team their commitment their desire their hunger to have a great season my job’s not over here and there’s that real Collective Spirit which I absolutely loved watching Leverkusen That season and Todd what’s so fascinating as well is not only that they go the season unbeaten but they had a manager there who was relatively new to management life he was at well sad a couple of Seasons before ra sad be team I think he was only there for one or two seasons then comes to bausen who was struggling towards the the bottom end of the Bundesliga gets them up into sixth into Europe in his first season in charge and then the second season he goes wins the title and no wonder he’s then since been linked with other clubs oh no question I think it’s one of those cases where winning solves all problems but I I agree with you I think the meteoric rise in such a short amount of time which we see across the landscape of of European football especially it takes a long time to build a team I mean you talk to any of the top managers and they’re going to say we’re not going to fix this overnight um this isn’t welcome to Rex it’s going to take some time to get this thing going and it’s gon to take some time to get our team where we want it to be and that’s obviously picking up players in in the tra in the trade season um finding ways to you know sh up your squad that’s uh coming up as well youthful youth program so anyways long story short it’s a great accomplishment across the board it’s a great story it is and I was very fortunate actually to speak to the managing director of sport for by lus and Simon rols a few months ago and and I asked him about why why shavey Alonzo and he said a lot of it was down to one who he is as a person but also what he’s achieved in his playing careers and as Philip aens was telling us there 18 titles across a number of clubs across different leagues just goes to show the respect he might have already commanded when he walked through in that dressing room um and interestingly you talk about the reach well they went on a trophy tour to Brazil which just goes to show how popular they may well have been or how certainly people wanted to see B cusin you guys think that his age had something to do with it I mean he’s only 42 but I think the guys that are playing underneath him still remember when he was playing at a high level well absolutely because he’s fresh fresh in their memory absolutely Ed and you look at malletra Arsenal as well I think that uh the younger players perhaps are more able to respect players that they’ve seen play rather than the older you know the likes of uh well gu I guess is still very much of that generation but even say Antonio Conte now that the current players probably might not remember his playing days and might not buy into his philosophy because of that it’s interesting you say um that trophy tour to Brazil Natalie because you look at by lusen Squad it is so International you’ve got Nathan tella Nigeria Granite Shaker of course Swiss Jeremy frong Dutch Al Garcia Spanish palasio is from Argentina and it really is such a an international Squad and no wonder they’ve got fans all around the world yeah very much so um well look let’s talk more football because it didn’t just happen in Europe Todd what happened with you well you talk about uh look at the Mexican side of Puka they beat Columbus crew and and they look very good as they get ready to you know make a run there but it was funny after that match Columbus Crew coach uh Wilford Nancy he claimed that it was a bout of food poisoning prior to their match with puka that affected his team’s performance I don’t know if you could put it all up to food but obviously when we go to Mexico they always say don’t drink the water so maybe that’s what happened there well it’s bit lasagna gate do you remember that one with Tottenham when they were going for the Europe a few seasons ago yeah reminiscent of that but we’ll gloss over that one very quickly Ed what about you anything to mention from uh Asia yeah of course the AFC champions league AFC Cup finals um it was the the last time that those finals would have been played for those tournaments because uh now this season we have a a three tier AFC champions league Elite AFC Champions League 2 and AFC Challenge League uh so we’ll start with the AFC Cup Final shall we the Central Coast Mariners uh champions in their debut in the tournament defeating lebanon’s alahad FC 1 nil thanks to a late aluk kuol strike uh the tournament was uh played in musket after being moved from Beirut and Lebanon due to tensions in the region uh so Marin is becoming just the second Australian Club to win an AFC competition a decade after the Western Sydney Wanderers won the AFC champions league on their debut as well there’s something about Australian sides making their Mark at their first appearance in a major tour tournament uh that win by the way for the Mariners is part of a treble for them they won the a league and the A- League men Grand Final as well can I just say Alo uh kual we’ve talked about uh players from different countries coming through the youth systems and everything like that he is such a story he scored that winning goal but he’s a bit of an icon in Australia his family and him moved from South Sudan when he was three years old uh due to tensions in the region moved to Australia and was part of the Mariners Academy from very young on he then worked as a kitchen hand while playing youth football and we talk about the Bundesliga being in International League he actually did spend some time uh playing for stutgart before then moving back to the Mariners and scoring that decisive goal in the AFC Cup Final um so fantastic to see him first of all being from South Sudan but now very much representing Australia at under 23 level and I’m sure uh in the full International Squad very shortly as well and AFC Champions League final that went the way of alen from the United Arab Emirates it’s a bit of a weird one the AFC champion League final it’s actually played in over two legs which I guess to some would be more fair because you get to play at home and away instead of just having one neutral venue and you do get to have you know your full uh vocal home support for at least one of the matches um it was contested between yokohoma F marinos from Japan and alien from the UAE in fact the Japanese side won the first leg at home 2-1 but then Aline destroyed them in the second leg 5-1 to win 63 on Aggregate and we talk about sport in the US Todd that means that alien qualify for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup which yep takes place in June in the US next year yeah it’s an interesting story there how that all played out I want to go back just a second as the Elder Statesman of this group can we give a shout out to Tony Cruz getting his fifth Champions League medal I mean Tony Cruz what a career he’s had Real Madrid obviously Bayern Munich 34 trophies in a 17-year career that is not too shabby yeah it’s funny isn’t it and the fact that you don’t always get a fairy tale ending we’re talking about lusen and their unbeaten run coming to end against Atlanta Tony Cruz he his last game in white for Real Madrid of course that Champions League win and then he probably thought he would retire from International football with a Euros title because they were the heavy favorites going into it but hey you can’t always get what you want but you know what bowing out with a Champions League medal for the fifth time isn’t too shabby at all uh yeah I I think he uh has enjoyed a pretty decent career uh that is all the football wrapped up let’s switch our attention shall we to golf in 2024 and to in the men’s game it was American domination once more when it comes to the majors that’s right Natalie April in the US is the start of the major season which runs in the US until May before heading to Europe for the British Open in July before the Masters there is a Players Championship which many golf refer to as the fifth major for men now Scotty Sheffer became the first player player to win it backto back and then went on to claim his second Masters a few weeks later both those victories occurred while his wife was in the final stages of her pregnancy and Scotty stated he would withdraw from the tournament as soon as she went into labor next is the uspga where Scotty was in the headlines uh for a non-golf reason when he got arrested and jailed for driving when the police told him not to it was a misunderstanding and he was allowed to compete the tournament itself was won by Xander shafley who opened with a course record of six 62 can you believe that a 62 he never looked back he also triumphed at the British Open at Royal trun he is truly an exceptional player and he seems to have ice running through his veins at the most pressure packed situations but for me the most memorable major was the US Open where Bryson to Shambo came from behind and he defeated Rory maroy now remember maroy was leading the tournament with four holes still to play but two Miss puts both of them under three feet at the 16th and the 18th hole and the shot of Rory maroy the scores tent watching Bryson Des Shambo secure that Victory are among the most iconic moments of 2024 and this marked Des shambo’s second US Open title and his second major so the US men dominated the majors as you say Natalie we had an excellent start in the women’s Majors as well with Nelly Cordo winning the Chevron championship and this was incredible marking her fifth consecutive Victory on the LPGA and making her only the third woman to achieve that feed in LPGA history and finally just to wrap up the season Scotty Sheffer winning the Olympic gold medal in Paris the new father what a year for him yeah as you said with all that the backdrop of what was going on with Scotty sheffler to be able to be that composed and do what he still was able to do I mean maybe that says more about the man than anything but that is simply ridiculous and incredible at the same time yeah and I think the fact that he plays the way he plays and that’s his personality uh he just does not get uh his his personality he’s just he does not get confused he does not get upset about things he just kind of plays metronome uh whether he just won the lottery or whether his you know dog just got hit by a car it’s just he just stays so calm throughout and I think that goes to show um just the kind of person he is uh just a great person uh maybe not the most exciting maybe not the most dynamic off the off the field and that journalists maybe say oh gosh this guy could be give us a few more spicy quotes or maybe a little more drama in his private life but he’s just not that way and I think you can really respect him when it comes on on Sundays moving days when he just has the steal and he has the skill to just push through controversy now does he you have some bad rounds of course he does everyone does but gosh his his year year in and year out the consistency it makes you think of someone like tiger um the way he can play and rise to the occasion but I think Xander schafle is gonna be another name that we’re gonna hear more and more of because I think he’s so good Kara is another name that I think in the golfing world it’s just his trajectory is just on the way up yeah I mean you took talk about Americans Nelly cter of course over on the women’s side of things the women’s Majors winning the Chevron Championship but aside from that it was really golfers from my part of the world who dominated the year in the women’s Majors Amy Young from South Korea winning the KPMG women’s PGA Championship uh two Japanese ladies yucas saso winning the US Women’s Open of course and aaka furu winning the Evan championship and then Lydia Co from New Zealand uh back on the list the AIG Women’s Open champion and of course Olympic gold not a bad year for her well one of the great stories obviously the solheim cup it’s so excited to watch that it’s the female equivalent of the writer cup and most of the time golf is an individual event but sometimes it becomes a team sport which he did again this year at this edition of the solheim cup in 2024 of course the Americans coming across that draw in 2023 looking to get the win in 2024 it was hosted at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club which is just outside Washington DC and with that Washington DC traffic just getting to the course was like a story in and of itself but the the US emerged Victorious under Captain Stacy Lewis and I had a chance to catch up with her a little earlier talk about the solheim cup in general is is as it regards to the schedule on the whole on the year where does it fit in and and how does it rate with the other players um you know obviously the American players European players it is top of mind you know it is um I think you start thinking about the points you know as soon as the ne as one completes um you know it is it is our big event it is uh the team you want to be a part of you want to win that trophy you don’t want to be a part of a losing team um and and we finally you know for I think goes great for the event that we finally won um you know you don’t ever want things to be too one-sided um so it um so yeah it was it was it was obviously was great for us this year I think you played in your first Soul hang cup back in 2011 if I’m not mistaken so you’ve got some good experience with with the event uh why do you think it’s grown in popularity so much over the last four or five years oh I just think it’s so different from every every other event you have right it um it’s just different it’s not your normal golf you know your fans can go there and be loud um it’s smaller it’s more intimate there’s not so many groups everybody’s you know everybody’s in one place on the golf course and um I think that’s a lot of it I think anytime you’re playing for your country for your you know for continent whatever you want to say I think there’s a pride to that and your fan and it resonates with the fans so um you know so we’re continuing to try to grow it I mean I still feel like I have to tell people it’s the women’s version of the Ridder cup so you know we still got a ways to go in in telling the world what the soul cup is the growth in golf especially in in Asia it seems to be just booming it’s just you know waking the sleeping giant kind of thing where they are coming on in such young Talent at such young age coming coming up is that the new hot bed for for women’s golf yeah and to be honest it’s been there for a long time I just don’t think people have quite realized it but um you know I I do think um our going to play in Asia all these years has helped that Talent kind of grow and Foster um you look at all the Thai players I mean that is purely a result of the tournament that we have in Thailand and the the exposure that they’re given to the LPGA and then then the government is now putting money into into growing those golf programs and giving those kids access and so um so you’re seeing it around the world even in Europe um the money that’s you know put into these federations to to grow those the players that are coming out there I mean you look at Q school that’s ha they’re trying to finish today with the weather but um you I mean Japan Korea tons of Europeans um you know that’s what you see and that’s where I think yes we have this national team now with the United States through the USGA but we’re still missing the mark and and how we’re growing our our American athletes happy to be joined by Stacy Lewis solhan Cup captain here on this sporting Planet Stacy as you look at golf as a whole both men’s and women’s uh sky the limit I mean we’re seeing payouts just keep getting bigger and bigger tournaments the ratings on television keep seem to keep getting bigger and bigger um even with the fracture with PGA and live golf is is golf on a whole in a good place um ah that’s a tough one I don’t I don’t know I don’t think I probably not to be honest um I think what’s happened in men’s golf has has kind of trickled down to to women’s golf a little bit and people aren’t watching the way they used to um this fracture that’s happened between live and the PJ tour hasn’t been healthy for the sport I don’t think um how they get back together I have no idea um you have those guys take so much money I just don’t know how you come back from that but um I think overall we got to a way to get more people to watch this game um because we’re we’re not I don’t think where’re where we need to be um so it’s um you know the game has to be played faster we got to find a way to modernize the game similar to what baseball has done I mean yeah you know it’s it’s in a good spot but I think you know there’s there’s a lot of room for growth now as far as you go uh the Sim cup and your captaincy does that stay in perpetuity as long as you wanted it’s yours no I mean well we actually have a call in a couple weeks to kind of figure out what we’re doing next and where we’re going to go I mean if I if I had if I was asked I would do it again in a heartbeat um I loved every bit of it um getting to spend the time with the players and getting to know them the way I did and um was it stressful was it a lot of work yes but um those two weeks have been two of the most fun weeks of my golf career so um so we we’ll fig we’ll figure it out in about a month or so and you can see more of my conversation with Stacy Lewis the captain of the US solheim cup uh on our YouTube channel on this sporting Planet so guys what is our takeaway I mean Stacy gave us so much good information saying that golf maybe isn’t in the best of place right now would you guys agree I mean I was quite surprised by that statement really from her I I do get the fractures that’s happened with the Liv Golf and and we’ve seen it we’ve seen how Rory maor was so outspoken about being anti- it so I get that there are denters I get that there have been issues although of course we now know that Liv golf has partnered up with PGA t for example um and we’re now seeing a lot of these players welcomed back when it comes to majors and certain tournaments um but so I was I was still a little bit surprised and something that she mentioned that I thought would be interesting to just pick up on is when she said that she felt like golf should go down kind of the Avenue of baseball but what have baseball done that she thinks is getting getting it right well they did Institute a pitch clock which speeds up the game and for the folks that don’t watch baseball a lot uh some of the games can go long I mean you could you could push four hours um for the DI hards appear who love the game sitting there with a with a with a cold soda maybe a bag of peanuts go four hours I don’t care I’m having a great time is better than being at work but for the people watching on television a game that can go under three hours you really get more people that will invest that time and I think a lot of sports are finding that uh I don’t say more is better but confined condensed and give me quality over quantity it might be the ticket I don’t know how that would play in in Asia in your part of the world Ed no I mean hey we’re watching these tournaments in the middle of the night so the quicker they can finish the better I can go back to sleep okay so she didn’t mean that she wants the golfers to run from one hole to the next then instead of taking a leisurely stroll I don’t think so I I think it’s just a a quicker pace and less of the format we heard from Stacy there talking about how Asia has been hot bed for a long time it’s perhaps only getting the recognition recently just um how well Asians are doing but also how popular the sport is in this part of the world and I was looking at a study that uh the RNA St Andrews did recently in terms of gol golf partici ation and actually um Asia is the leading region for people engaging with golf among RNA Affiliated regions 26.2 million they estimate total adult engagement in Asia as opposed to 19.7 million in Europe the top two countries for Gulf engagement Japan and the Republic of Korea and of course that is going to be largely down to the success of the women more so I guess um in those countries but a great de see that the take up here is so high and just finally Todd um did we have an exclusive there from Stacy saying she’d like to Captain it the the US team in the solheim cup for a third time well I I think we do have an exclusive there good pick up by you Natalie but you know I correct myself 2023 was not technically a full outright win but the Americans are going to claim it as a win and a die and then 20124 obviously was a very exciting tournament and they’d get the victory I don’t know why they wouldn’t bring her back but uh you know I gotta mention also that she’s still an active player I mean she’s a former number one so she still has some some good playing days ahead of her um you see the the rise of of rosang Nelly Corda some of the young Talent that’s coming up and then as she mentioned so much good talent coming up from Edward’s part of the world in Asia and oceanana so I think that the the golfing world as far as women’s golf is concerned is in a very good spot right now but again there’s obviously you know on the wish list things they would like to see better and and do better I know Stacy is kind of against Liv Golf and the split but do you reckon we could see Liv golf for women at some point Greg Norman always seems to tease it a little bit here and there yeah you’re right he exactly does I I I would say the answer the short answer is yes I mean where there’s a will there’s a way and if the money’s there the players will follow and I can’t blame the players um obviously they’re trying to make a living and trying to do the best they can but uh and I think there just needs to be less bickering and more good golf and it comes down to that and so you got to get a lot of people in the room to hammer out some details but in the end as the famous quote always says the answered all your question is money let’s move on to Cricket shall we and in particular the Cricket World Cup and before we get on to the surprise package of the tournament Todd this was one that was pretty special because it was uh the USA that were involved in in hosting this yeah it was very special indeed June 29th the final was played and of course it was played in the West Indies but the US was involved in the first ever I don’t know if you knew this Natalie the US was involved in the first ever international cricket match that was the USA versus Canada and that was back in 1844 now for the Americans uh cricket is not obviously one of their main sports we don’t call it one of the big three but over 190,000 fans attended the T 20 World Cup um and the matches in the USA really good attendance there stadiums in the US you had New York you had Texas you had Florida and the IC they called it an incredible event for fan engagement but obviously it was co-hosted by the West Indies the US hosted 16 of the 55 matches including Opening match versus Canada on June 1st and of course the US is looking to build upon Cricket as it makes its entry into the Olympics and that’ll be in 2028 obviously in Los Angeles but I tell you what having the West Indies co-host this was a big deal as well because they obviously have more history unfortunately some of the drawbacks for the USA were the pitches not quite up to par uh they had some issues with rain heavy rain obviously in the Florida area but uh you got to have a quality pitch if you’re going to bring the world’s best and that’s one thing the US will certainly need to work on going forward they’re learning they’re learning and that’s the most important thing and the highlights making it on to ESPN sports center so clearly you’re doing something right there but again in the end India wins over South Africa so a great tournament at all and a great situation obviously for the Americans to get involved in cricket um Ed for the USA to embrace this tournament obviously a really big deal it is and I do like the fact that they really made a spectacle out of it I do think though if it is to grow in your part of the world Todd we need some better Cricket pitches in the US because some of them didn’t really lead to a a very enthralling tournament a lot of games not being able to play but yes Afghanistan they weren’t complain about how things went in the T20 World Cup what an incredible feat it was for them to reach the semi-finals for the very first time this is Afghanistan by the way a country who’s been torn apart through Wars suff natural disasters they had floods in may actually just before the World Cup as well and Afghanistan Captain Rashid Khan said that his team success is really the only source of Happiness back home in Afghanistan right now imagine the pressure on your shoulders knowing that you are the only source of success in your country um this is a sport well that has really just taken off in the past decade or so um I was reading a quote from R Amad zai the former captain of the Afghanistan national cricket team and he put it down to the fact the popularity uh down to the fact that it really took off in refugee camps near the Pakistani Afghan border and it transferred from a a cricket crazy nation of Pakistan over to Afghanistan the national Cricket Board in Afghanistan was only formed in 1995 only recognized as an affiliate member of the ICC in 2001 and now the sports the most popular in the country and full of recognizable names um all around the world one thing though that has to be said they have some really experienced players I mentioned rased Khan the likes of uh Muhammad nabii and uh Shahidi as well hash mulah Shahidi but the players that really came to the four in this world cup were the youngsters the 22-year-old batter ramula gurbaz he was the top scorer in the tournament with 281 runs and fuzak farooqi the leading Wicket taker as well with 17 wickets he’s only 23 years old so this generation can really cover new ground and really take uh Afghan crickets to new heights I feel in the coming years well let’s hear more now from someone who’s known as the voice of Afghanistan Cricket dender Kumar a voice on BBC test match special and someone who follows Afghanistan all over the globe dender has become a trusted and loved voice for the Afghan people he’s been chatting to Jack win Stanley and began by explaining that their run at this year’s T20 World Cup shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise prior to that as well in 2023 IC Oda World Cup they were phenomenal you know beating three world champions including England as well England Pakistan and Sri Lanka so there was sense of legitimation about doing something and putting the country back on the map because there there had been a lot of discussion about what’s what was happening politically so the cricketers they have always been hope for the Afghan people and great source of happiness for the for the countrymen and the afan cricketers were committed to give something back to the nation to celebrate and that’s why they were determined I remember covering domestic tournament the mpal T20 Cup in in Afghanistan Kabul and I could sense the the sense of determination and then in clear game plans of doing something or upstaging Australia because uh Australia recovered from 91.7 and and and went on to win the win the match in the IC OD World Cup so they were determined to beat Australia prust that was their only aim and in between many teams got rolled over because they just their focus was simply beating Australia and they picked the right talent and they understood the conditions really well they sent the te 15 days before so the planning part has improved a lot and it was they have always been immensely challenged it was all about just organizing giving them the structure and that’s where I think Jonathan Trot played a significant part in giving the pathway to be placed to succeed and they they made sure that they utiliz the I they made sure they utilize the talent really well I was not surprised that they went on to play the semifinals we all were expecting back in Afghanistan that this team has got the potential to do something Monumental and I won’t be surprised in upcoming Champions tropy if Afghanistan go on to win what was the atmosphere like during those victories and and from what you could tell what was the reaction like back home in Kabul I mean you listed Australia New Zealand Bangladesh on the way to the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup there must have been just overwhelming Joy back home overwhelming joy and kind of scenes that we see on football grounds for example when Argentina went on to win the football World Cup in Qatar so those kind of scenes were there in Afghanistan they they would celebrate whole night and and during the day as well throughout the week it was a festive season for aans and for the first time they were so happy from the beginning they wanted Afghan cricketers to beat the big teams and eventually when they realize the dreams it it was dream you know coming true not only for the cricketers but also for the fan as because they believed in their challeng abilities to deliver on biggest days and it was exhilerating you know watching people coming out in the streets United the country again after the regime changed there was some confusion and some Kos as well but but those victories in in the ICC T20 World Cup lifted the moral of the entire nation and it has given a great boost to the nation and I I won’t be surprised in coming years Afghanistan will become a major course not only in T20 cricket not only in one day Cricket but in test there’s a keen desire to Showcase their skills in test for fantastic and just finally dender whil there’s lots of positives to talk about when it comes to men’s Cricket in Afghanistan the future of women’s Cricket in the country is looking a lot less certain isn’t it I mean the women’s side were banned from playing Cricket when the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and that was before even they played a competitive match because they’d only just been awarded contracts hadn’t they at the back end of 2020 the team fled the country mostly to Australia what what’s the late with the women’s Cricket in Afghanistan or at least Afghan female cricketers and and where does female Afghan Cricket go next I think it’s going to take time there’s a conscious approach from Cricket Board and conscious approach from some of the factions you know in the current regime they want the women’s education as well as the sport as sere it is going to take time it’s not going to happen overnight because the country has been into world for 40 years it’s it’s a long duration and then Sudden Change in leadership and regime is something that that that was a shocking experience for afan people and and administration is well to cope up with all the threats coming in from different parts of the world so it it was important to to you know reconnect and and redevelop everything in Afghanistan and so it’s going to take time but I’m hopeful what what what I’m gathering different types of conversations taking place across the political spectrum and as well as as the cck world and and players you may have read on the Twitter Rashid Khan and Muhammad mayi expressing solidarity with the women cricketers and women in general as well it’s it’s it’s a cultural shock for for a moment but I think things will change it’s not going to remain like this it may take four years five years maybe a decade but things will change and it’s it’s a a cultural aspect it’s a political thing and you know the Cricket Board cannot go against the political system that that that is the the thing that we have to accept it but the best way forward is is to engage Afghanistan Cricket because Cricket is the only through which you can engage and bring about change in the country because everyone knows that Cricket plays a huge part in in keeping the country together in a h it together and and it’s emotion for every citizen of of Afghanistan so Cricket is the only way forward and that’s why I think what happened in Australia pulling out of the tour in United Arab Emirates couple of years back and that’s something that hurt the sentiments of the Common People of Afghanistan because they wanted support in difficult times from cricket Australia and uh I hope that if they reconsider the decision and and engage Afghanistan Cricket that is the best possible way to to bring about change in in society and cultural changes as SP by isolating Afghanistan nothing is going to happen it’s going to be detrimental for the moral of the country it’s going to be very very difficult for Afghan people because they suffered a lot in last 40 years and they want some peace and and that’s where they want support from the outside world particularly encouraging the cricket team which is which is you know showing some tremendous game over the years and and the way they they’ve been able to perform in last couple of years I think they are a rising force and they need some support from the outside world dender Kumar there the voice of Afghanistan Cricket speaking to our Jack winstanley if you want to hear more from that then you can head over to our this sporting planet YouTube channel yeah really interesting interview there dender was mentioning about the impact that Jonathan tr’s had that’s been recognized he’s just actually received a one-year contract extensions he’ll be continuing in charge until the end of 2025 so he will oversee Afghanistan’s debut in the ICC Champions Trophy in February and March next year where dender says they could go on to win it we do have to remember in amongst all this talk of Afghanistan’s fantastic run at the World Cup that India did win it uh breaking that 11-year curse of not winning an ICC Trophy and they did it in some style as well the first ever team to win an ICC T20 World Cup undefeated they beat South Africa in the final the only match where they didn’t win was against Canada in the group stages why was that because it was abandoned without a ball being bow because of a wet Outfield in Florida see you got to sort out your pictures Todd yeah that’s one thing where the Americans did struggle but I think on the whole as far as American fans go it was a huge success introduced a lot of people to a beautiful game and I think that interview that Jack had was really telling I just it comes back to you know why we do this show this sporting Planet the power of sport to to to heal wounds and to make life better for people well that will about do it for this episode of this sporting Planet coming up we’re going to take a deep dive into the Olympics which took place in Paris the Paris Olympics and the par Olympics guys this was a huge Global event Ed you were there I was there we all loved it what were your highlights what really stood out for you over there in Paris uh well I’ve mentioned obviously Armon Duplantis and his world record in the men’s pole vault but you know what it was building up to it so many documentaries were released weren’t they and you had the Netflix on Simone biles you had Sprint as well focusing obviously on the track uh so I was really looking forward to seeing what was going to happen in the Athletics track but also see if Simone biles could bounce back which I think we all expected she was going to do but still she’s just so incredible when it comes to gymnastics so I was just looking forward to seeing if she could do it and do it to the level we expected her to do it out Simone was one of my highlights as well after the twisties it’s the first time I’ve seen her in person and uh just wanted her to do well after what happened in Tokyo and the fact that she the minute she walked out her very first appearance at Paris she was just beaming from ear to ear that smile I was very very close to her I won’t forget it she just seemed to enjoy being out there once more being in the competition and also just leading that team as well to yet another gold and guys let’s not put the cart before the horse because in the US one of the biggest focuses on was at this time of year was the trials I mean just getting on Team USA was a huge Endeavor not only from Athletics but the duel in the pool for swimming who’s going to make the squad all the way down to who’s going to make the skateboarding team who’s going to make the BMX team the battle to get on Team USA was a monster event and of course all eyes then turning their attention to Paris in July and what a show it was yes indeed cannot wait for that episode but that is it for this episode make sure to subscribe to the show via your favorite podcast provider so you never miss out any of the conversation all right again next time our attention turns to Paris for the world’s biggest Festival of sport with the Olympic and paralympic games and I’ve been chatting with Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas so we’ll have that as well plus the domestic season’s complete it was an international football which took center stage with UEFA Euro 2024 and of course Copa America so from Ed Todd and myself as well as the whole of the this sporting Planet team thanks very much for listening
