After months of anticipation, one of the world’s largest sporting events is here and the World Cup will be played out in full force – this year the event will be held for the second time in Brazil who last hosted the Cup in 1950.
To celebrate the Cup the creators of an award-winning football (soccer) podcast series returned to Southern Cross University’s radio studios this week to start recording a special 2014 World Cup broadcast.
Football tragics Christian Layland was a business student and Jack Quigley was studying journalism at the University’s Lismore campus in 2010 when the pair decided to turn their passion for the A-League competition and that year’s World Cup into a blog and online audio commentary forum called The Football Sack.
Twenty-four year old Christian, who is now the media and communications coordinator at the Western Sydney Wanderers, and Jack, 26, will be producing podcasts each day of the World Cup, which runs from June 12 to July 13 in Brazil, from the SCU radio studios at the Lismore campus.
Guest commentators will include popular SA FM Breakfast Show co-host and ex-Big Brother housemate, Michael Beveridge, and players from the A-League.
In 2011 and 2012 The Football Sack was named ‘Football Podcast of the Year’ at the Football Fans Downunder media awards, edging out football magazine Four Four Two and SBS TV’s Champions League program. Their podcasts, a mix of analysis and humour, also knocked Hamish and Andy off the number one iTunes spot for podcasts in 2011.
Christian said he and Jack were looking forward to getting behind the microphones again at SCU.
‘It’s great to be back where it all started’, he said. ‘Jack and I are very proud of where we come from so it made perfect sense to return to the NSW Far North Coast and Southern Cross University radio studios.
‘In many ways The Football Sack’s growth came about due to what Jack and I were learning in these lecture rooms so we were excited when the University offered us the use of the studios for the Brazil 2014 Podcast and we thank them for that.
‘This year’s podcast will be bigger and better than previous years. We’ve got a number of Far North Coast businesses supporting us. As well, most of the Hyundai A-League clubs have committed players as guests on the show.
‘The World Cup provides true excitement. We can’t wait to get started.’
Jack Quigley is still based in Lismore and works as a marketing officer at Banking on Football.
‘The World Cup podcasts from 2010 that we recorded here really launched our careers for Christian and me,’ said Jack.
‘On the back of that success we were able to go from being university students writing and talking about the game in our spare time, to being paid to do it for a living so we’ve got very fond memories of this place.’
Dr Grayson Cooke, course coordinator of the Bachelor of Media, said the University was excited to once again be supporting The Football Sack.
‘I am very proud of what Christian and Jack have achieved with The Football Sack, and very happy that they’ve chosen to return to SCU for this major event’, said Dr Cooke. ‘Their innovative use of social media and ability to turn a personal passion into a national forum is an incredible achievement.
‘I am sure that their broadcasts for this year’s World Cup will be as amusing and successful as their past efforts, and a real inspiration for all our media students.’
The Football Sack now has more than 20 staff all over Australia and New Zealand reporting on the A-League, W-League, and National Premier Leagues.
It has proved to be a nursery for like-minded fans to get jobs in other sections of the media or within the football world.
‘We’ve had 23 graduates who have come through The Football Sack, learned their trade in our hands-on environment and are now working in media, public relations and marketing for various organisations including professional football clubs’, said Christian.
For the five-week World Cup competition, the team will be producing 29 podcasts from the SCU radio studios, with match day previews and reviews that will be downloadable via iTunes and The Football Sack website at: www.thefootballsack.com.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
