
Episode 715 – The AFTN Soccer Show (We Go Again – AZ Jackson interview, Jesper Sorensen on season ahead, MLS kits, Champions Cup preview, Canadian U17s flop)
We’re back with another AFTN Soccer Show packed full of Vancouver Whitecaps, Major League Soccer, CONCACAF Champions Cup, and Canadian football chat and interviews, in the first of two podcasts we have for your listening pleasure this week.
It was a short offseason, which is always great because it means you’ve had a great previous year! The Whitecaps return to competitive action this week with two matches in two competitions. How ready are they? Head coach Jesper Sorensen shares some thoughts on the preseason prep, players’ availability, and we preview the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round first leg match-up against Cartagines in Costa Rica.
Our feature interview this week is with one of the newest Whitecaps, American attacker Aziel Jackson. We chat with AZ about his return to MLS from Poland, his loan to Vancouver, his time over in Europe, and his footballing journey, and find out if he fancies a chocolate digestive. Plus Jesper Sorensen shares his thoughts on the addition of the player.
All the new MLS kits for the 2026 season were revealed this past week, including the Whitecaps’ new away jersey, the Coastal Kit. We look at it flying off the shelves and what that might mean for the club’s finances. Plus the fashionistas that we are, we cast our eyes of what we feel are the best and the worst of the current crop of kits for this year.
All of this plus we move onto the letter G in our Canadian Soccer A to Z series, Hot Chocolate Boy is back for a final outing, and music-wise, Syd Barrett continues his residency as our Artist of the Month, Stump are the latest band to feature in our 40th anniversary tribute year to the C86 movement, and we have another World Cup themed song in Wavelength, this time a cover of an all-time classic.
Here’s the rundown for the main segments from the episode:
01.27: Intro – TV, VAR, this week in the world of football
16.27: Hot Chocolate Boy – Boketto and festival faves
21.40: Whitecaps’ new kit sets sales records
37.50: MLS kits – the best and worst of 2026
70.30 Aziel Jackson interview and discussion
103.35: Anyone Fancy A Chocolate Digestive? – AZ Jackson
109.20: How ready are the Whitecaps for the season? – Jesper muses
125.05: CONCACAF Champions Cup preview
144.00: Canadian Soccer A to Z – G
153.00: Canada men U17’s fail to qualify for World Cup
163.50: Wavelength – Running For Drugs – World In Motion
You can download and/or listen to this, and all previous, episodes of the podcast on the following services:
Or after all that, you could just listen on the player below!