Why can't footballers stop using Snus? - The Sports Agents

Mark Chapman (0:02)

This is a Global Production.

Nedum Onuoha (0:05)

I'll be honest, I've got... Is it a horse in this race or a dog in this race?

Mark Chapman (0:09)

What's the phrase? Is it a horse in this race or a dog in this fight?

Nedum Onuoha (0:12)

In this dog in this fight. So one of my friends...

SPEAKER_3 (0:15)

I'm not a dog in this horse.

Nedum Onuoha (0:17)

Well, that's a different podcast. It's sort of like a story about addiction.

SPEAKER_3 (0:22)

It makes your whole head hot. I was sweating, felt dizzy. I think if he's doing it, well, why am I not doing it? It's professional sports, everyone's looking for that extra 1% in the morning. While I was playing, I might have one in the morning or two in the morning. I definitely was addicted.

Nedum Onuoha (0:37)

There were times in my life where I've seen people gambling on who will walk around the corner next, you know what I mean, but putting significant money on it.

SPEAKER_3 (0:44)

It's a familiar story. I've seen... I've been to house parties, I've been on Nights Out, like you said, and I've seen lots of professionals doing these things.

Nedum Onuoha (0:52)

That feeling of like, yeah, that feels good.

SPEAKER_3 (0:55)

If you're getting addicted to anything, you're highly likely as a professional athlete.

Mark Chapman (1:09)

Hello, welcome to The Sports Agents on today's show. We'll talk about something that has become part of football culture from Premier League, dressing rooms right down to Sunday League, and that is Snus or nicotine pouches. So they're small, they can be slipped under the lip and they are highly addictive. Plenty of footballers use them, but what happens when it is a habit that you can't stop? We'll hear from a former Premier League player and he'll talk about his addiction and how it's affected his life. First, though, we'll deal with the Champions League and we'll start with a bit of Rugby League.

So, the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, we're recording this on Thursday morning. It's about 10 past 11, so it kicked off an hour ago in Australia in what is the most convoluted format of any tournament I have ever covered.

Nedum Onuoha (1:58)

Why?

Mark Chapman (1:58)

Well, not that I'm covering this.

Nedum Onuoha (2:00)

Exactly. It's a workup that you take big interest in.

Mark Chapman (2:05)

Yeah. I've presented the last few variations of it. The format seems to change each time I've done it.

The last time when it was held over here, what was genuinely, genuinely great about it, all three tournaments ran at the same time. The men's, the women's and the wheelchair. They're doing something similar in Australia now. And then when the men's final finished, all three teams came out to celebrate the trophies that they won. And it was amazing. So they do it really, really well. I loved it. I love Rugby League. Still do a bit of Rugby League. And the last semi-final at Ellam Road between Australia and New Zealand was one of the greatest sporting events have ever been at. Really? The pace, the power, the skill. The first half there, the intensity, it completely blew me away. So and those two teams are playing in the opening game of this tournament. And as we're recording this, it's 10 points all. Now both of those two will go from, through from the group. And I would imagine that that is more than likely to be the final. The last final was Australia against Samoa, because Samoa knocked England out in the semi-final.

After organizers in their wisdom decided England should play their semi-final at the Emirates, down south where they'd never played before, it wasn't the best atmosphere in the world. And they could have had it in a real hotbed anyhow.

Nedum Onuoha (3:30)

Hotbed up north, you mean? Yeah, I think, yeah, yeah, genuinely, yeah.

Mark Chapman (3:33)

So like the Australian-New Zealand game had been at Elm Road, I just couldn't see why. Anyhow, that's by the book. That's by the book.

And the other great thing about this World Cup is it has developed over the years. It still needs more strength in depth, but it has a greater strength in depth than maybe eight years ago, even the fact that Samoa were in the last final. So what has happened is the Pacific Islands, I'm thinking Tonga and Samoa in particular, have a lot of heritage players. So players who may have been born in Australia or New Zealand, but want to play for the place of birth of either their parents or their grandparents. And you can see how much it matters to them, that heritage. And it has created a slightly more balanced landscape when it comes to the elite level, those four or five nations. And in some ways, if you look at the bookies odds, Tonga and Samoa are actually third and fourth favourites with England down in fifth. Really? Why is that? I think because the majority of those Tonga and Samoa players play in the NRL, and the NRL is the elite competition of Rugby League. So that's the Australian domestic Rugby League competition. Most of the, all of the Kiwis, maybe a couple, are playing there as well. So if you're playing at that, and in England have five, I think, NRL-based players. If you're playing at that level week in, week out, the feeling is it's on another level to the Super League over here.