Exploring The Greatest Mystery In Football History Hosted By Dara Ó Briain And Josh Widdicombe

Award-winning comedians Josh Widdicombe and Mock The Week‘s Dara Ó Briain host a six-part podcast exploring the phenomenon of Ali Dia’s in a single day rise to the Premier League – for 53 minutes.

Global at present pronounces the launch of a brand-new podcast telling the story of the most important thriller in soccer historical past – 53 Minutes, co-produced by Global and Listen, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

All episodes will likely be obtainable from nineteenth March on Global Player, and the six-part collection will likely be launched weekly through all different platforms.

53 Minutes is a brand new podcast hosted by acclaimed comedians Josh Widdicombe and Dara Ó Briain, which can discover the distinctive circumstances that allowed a under common, beginner soccer participant to hustle his manner onto soccer’s most elite stage – the Premier League.

Each episode, Dara and Josh will likely be joined by those that keep in mind the singular sport that shocked the footballing world to its core and which nonetheless to this present day, begs the query of simply how this might have occurred.

“It is an honour to be requested to host this podcast on the best thriller of the best decade within the historical past of soccer. Like any soccer fan with their priorities proper I see the story of Ali Dia because the sacred textual content of the game and so I hope we will do it justice.

Also, what a pleasure to be working with Dara and never have him ask me for some unlikely stuff you’d see in an motion movie.”
Josh Widdicombe, co-host of 53 Minutes 

“I jumped at the chance to finally get the truth about the legend that is Ali Dia, even though that might involve asking Graham Souness a question and getting a hard stare back.”
Dara Ó Briain, co-host of 53 Minutes

53 Minutes takes the viewers again in time, to an period when Gianfranco Zola, Eric Cantona and Alan Shearer had been on the high of their soccer sport and had been joined by none aside from Ali Dia – for 53 minutes solely. Whether he’s responsible of a con, a hustle, or just of being the recipient of a fortunate break, Dara and Josh will discover the fact behind the parable that has surrounded Ali Dia’s identify for the previous quarter-century.

Guests becoming a member of to provide their tackle whether or not Ali Dia was a hoaxer or a hustler embrace footballers Matt Le Tissier, Ken Monkou, Francis Benali, Paul Thompson, Peter Harrison and Simo Valakari in addition to soccer journalists Ed Aarons, Frank Simon, Amy Lawrence, Graham Nickless, John Gibson, Graham Hiley, Steve Menary, Kelly Naqi and former soccer agent Winston Makamure, Southampton membership historian Duncan Holley, Mady Touré who’s the CEO of Generation Foot and naturally, Graeme Souness – the supervisor of Southampton FC on the time.

In November 1996, Graeme Souness, then supervisor of Southampton, reportedly obtained a telephone name from a person claiming to be the perfect participant on the planet – George Weah. George defined that his ‘cousin’, Ali, was additionally a gifted soccer participant, and requested whether or not Souness would think about taking him on as a trialist. The membership was in the course of an damage disaster, and the prospect of signing a participant associated to somebody of Weah’s calibre was simply too good to move up. Graeme stated sure.

In actuality, Ali Dia wasn’t associated to George Weah, and it wasn’t even George who made the decision. Following Ali’s disastrous substitute efficiency in opposition to Leeds on the 23^rd November 1996 – wherein he was introduced on to interchange the injured Matt Le Tissier after which subbed off after solely 53 minutes – he moved on. He spent a while in Gateshead and Spennymoor, earlier than disappearing altogether. And we’ve lastly discovered him.

All six episodes of 53 Minutes will likely be launched on March 19^th 2024 on Global Player and weekly through all different main podcast platforms. 53 Minutes is a Global Original podcast, produced by Global and Novel, in partnership with Dentsu Entertainment.

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