News
Footballers Unfiltered returns for third season – this time, the players are taking you to the World Cup
The 2026 World Cup is coming. And there’s only one podcast taking fans inside it through the voices of the players living it.
Season Three of FIFPRO’s Footballers Unfiltered launches with a new host, a new World Cup backdrop and the same unfiltered honesty that has made the award-winning podcast one of football’s most authentic player-led conversations.
A new host takes the hotseat: Jackson Irvine. The Australia international, St. Pauli captain, and co-president of Professional Footballers Australia takes the reins from Joe Hart after two groundbreaking seasons.
And what makes this season unlike anything before: Irvine is going to the World Cup too. While preparing for the biggest stage, Irvine – a previous guest on the show – sits down with fellow players living those same consequential months to give viewers and listeners unrivalled insight.
This is football from the inside. Footballers Unfiltered is the place where players speak openly about the pressures, politics and realities of the modern game, ahead of going to the World Cup. What is truly needed to make the tournament? What are the pressures nobody talks about? And what do players heading to the World Cup need from their unions, clubs and from the game itself? This is what we’ll be tackling with guests ahead of Canada, Mexico and USA 2026
Footballers Unfiltered Season Three: The Guests
Episode 1: Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes (Cape Verde)
Episode 2: Wataru Endo (Japan)
Episode 3: Amir Murillo (Panama)
Episode 4: Ryan Christie (Scotland)
Footballers Unfiltered: Season Three
The footballing conversations you won't find anywhere else
Previous seasons tackled mental health, life after football, player safety, online abuse and equal pay. Season Three carries that mission but raises the stakes.
With the eyes of the world turning to football, Footballers Unfiltered carries the message of player unions to a global audience. This is where players speak freely. Where their experiences matter. Where the game is seen for what it truly is.
Roberto 'Pico' Lopes tells the story of Cape Verde's first-ever World Cup qualification, his unlikely journey into international football via LinkedIn, and why players need a collective voice in the decisions that shape their careers.
Liverpool midfielder and Japan captain Wataru Endo opens up about the physical and mental toll of a relentless football calendar and why players must have more say on their own workload.
Amir Murillo and Ryan Christie join across the season, each bringing a perspective the mainstream football conversation too often leaves behind.
Where to watch
Season Three of Footballers Unfiltered launches Thursday 21 May, with weekly episodes in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup. Watch the full episodes on FIFPRO’s YouTube channel, the dedicated Footballers Unfiltered web page, or all major podcast platforms.