New Ground Show
New Ground Show
Podcast Description
⚽️ Melanin-rich conversations about soccer and life with Allen Hopkins Jr. & Jalil Anibaba 🎙️ Episodes premiere Thursday nights on SiriusXM FC 157 & SiriusXM App ▶️ Full interviews, Extra Time Content and Behind the Scenes New Ground explores the vibrant intersection of football, culture, and identity. We delve into how the beautiful game shapes and reflects global trends, sparking conversations about race, society, and life itself.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores the rich intersection of soccer, culture, and identity, covering topics such as personal journeys in professional sports, societal impacts of soccer, and global trends related to race and community, with episodes spotlighting unique narratives like Chukwuemeka Eneli's balance of education and soccer in MLS.

It’s your favorite player’s favorite show.
Welcome to New Ground, where the conversations hit different.
Hosted by Allen Hopkins Jr. and Jalil Anibaba, this is where the locker room opens up. These are melanin-rich conversations about life, soccer — footy, whatever you want to call it — and the real stories that shape the game in America.
From Major League Soccer to the USMNT pipeline, from player identity to leadership, culture, pressure, and purpose — nothing’s off limits. This isn’t media-trained soundbites. It’s lived experience. It’s perspective you only get from the guys who’ve been in it.
Allen and Jalil sit down with current and former pros, coaches, creatives, and culture-shifters to unpack the moments you didn’t see on the highlight reel — the setbacks, the locker room truths, the growth behind the grind.
If you love the game beyond the scoreboard, this show is for you.
Real players. Real perspective. New Ground.
With Arsenal FC having a lead in the Premier League, we encourage supporters around the globe to hold on tight.
On this episode of New Ground, Allen Hopkins Jr. and Jalil Anibaba talk about the Prem, the US National Teams and the top stories in Major League Soccer.
We get into:
- Allen and Jalil discuss all-time favorite boots
- Hold your breath Arsenal fans
- Naomi Girma shows out back with USWNT
- Swag don’t lag with Rose Lavelle
- Weston McKennie extended through 2030
- Messi bags a brace or Inter Miami CF
- NY Red Bulls values their youth
- Chicago Fire reestablishing themselves a destination
- DC United flipping the script from ’25?
- Does MLS need LIGA MX for All-Star Game?
- Flowers: Giselle Thompson and Community Service
– – –
If you want real conversations from inside MLS and all things global footy, follow New Ground and SHARE this episode with someone who lives and breathes the game.

Disclaimer
This podcast’s information is provided for general reference and was obtained from publicly accessible sources. The Podcast Collaborative neither produces nor verifies the content, accuracy, or suitability of this podcast. Views and opinions belong solely to the podcast creators and guests.
For a complete disclaimer, please see our Full Disclaimer on the archive page. The Podcast Collaborative bears no responsibility for the podcast’s themes, language, or overall content. Listener discretion is advised. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy for more details.