Our Belfast Live Sport podcast celebrates recording 20th episode with charity donation
Belfast Live's weekly football show 'That's What I Call Football', which was our second podcast launch (the first being 'The Back Page' by Irish Mirror) began in time for the 2018/19 season and brings together top analysis, insight and craic to passionate Irish League fans every week.
Long-standing supporters of local sport BetMcLean teamed up with us as the show sponsor and the Children’s Heartbeat Trust netted the shows popular ‘Charity Bet’ feature.
The idea behind the podcast was to fill a void in the local football scene for the discerning fan whose interest in the game goes far beyond the 90 minutes.
Hosted by Belfast Live Sport Reporter Gareth Fullerton alongside regular pundit Tim McCann, the show also welcomes a variety of guests from the local game to chat all things Irish League.
Top guests have included Cliftonville captain Ryan Catney, Linfield striker Andy Waterworth and Glentoran coach Paul Leeman. Boxing champ Carl Frampton and comedian Shane Todd have also popped up to say 'Hello'.
On hitting the milestone recording, Gareth said: “We are proud to champion local football, from grassroots level to the Irish League and everything in between. And the podcast allows us to give the local game the coverage it deserves.
“There is a big audience out there for local football, and we are grateful to the loyal support of fans who tune in every week. Our aim is discuss the main talking points on the local game, but we also like to inject a bit of fun and humour into the show.”
Paul McLean, Bet McLean Managing Director, highlighted that the sponsorship of the Irish League themed podcast is a great fit with Bet McLean’s objective to support local sport.
"Bet McLean is proud to support local sport in Northern Ireland and it’s through partnerships like this we’re able to affirm our continuing financial commitment to local sport. Through our association with local football, Irish League especially, we know how passionate the fans, coaches and players are for the local game and Belfast Live Sport’s podcast epitomises all of that.”
To celebrate reaching the milestone 20th episode, a cheque for £1,250 was presented to Gareth McGreevy from the Children’s Heartbeat Trust who said: “This partnership means so much to the charity as we rely entirely on voluntary donations and we receive no public funding.
“With no heart surgery happening for our children in Northern Ireland and over 200 children born with CHD each year, many have to travel to Birmingham, London or Dublin for surgery and initiatives like this allow us to support these families.”
Over 20 episodes, the podcast racked up nearly 10,000 all-time listens so as a thank you to listeners, we also ran a competition to win FIVE £20 bets thanks to show sponsor BetMcLean.
The podcast lives on Belfast Live Sport and all episodes are also available on iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn and Stitcher. Give it a wee listen sure!