The dictatorship of General Francisco Franco ruled Spain from 1939-75. It was a brutal regime that coincided with Spain's emergence as a footballing powerhouse.

We talk to Alejandro Quiroga from the University of Newcastle to learn about football as a propaganda tool and also the domestic political dynamic around football during this period.

We discuss the impact of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) on La Liga and some of the major established clubs in Spain with Bilbao-based blogger, Dan Parry from The Linesman blog.

The war helped found the current Atlético Madrid club and nearly drove FC Barcelona out of business.

In this episode, we discuss the clubs on Northern Spain with the Oviedo-based football journalist, Alexandra Jonson. She’s writing a book on Real Oviedo, and also tells us about the best match day experiences in a much-overlooked part of Spain.

Join us as we travel around Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country, checking in on famous clubs like Athletic Bilbao, Deportivo La Coruña, Real Sociedad and some of the smaller clubs.

We speak to Alan McLean from the Patrick O'Connell Memorial Fund to learn about the incredible playing and managerial career of Patrick O'Connell, whose legacy as the man who saved FC Barcelona - and other incredible achievements - was almost forgotten.

The Spanish capital is a must for any international groundhopper. In this podcast we talk to Roddy Cons from the Madrid-based vlog The Team on Tour about how to visit Real Madrid’s Estadio Bernabeu and Atlético Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano, as well as a cluster of smaller clubs from the city.