Top Ten slot for The Football Ramble

The Football Ramble, whose team includes stand-up Jim Campbell, is currently No 6 on the overall iTunes chart, outselling the likes of Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift and just one place behind Grammy hero Sam Smith.

The spoken-word album, which sells for £1.99, was recorded during a recent live tour of the show, which has been described as ' an audio version of Baddiel and Skinner's Fantasy Football without the irritating laddishness'.

Pete Donaldson, Marcus Speller and Luke Moore have presented the show since 2007, when it began in the kitchen of Moore's London home.

Campbell, who called the chart success of the album 'incredible,' said: 'We have built up a listenership through word of mouth and commitment and I guess it shows that podcasting is a viable way to build an audience outside of the mainstream channels.'

The tour, which was produced by football-loving rapper and comic Doc Brown, was a sell-out when it visited Manchester, Edinburgh, London and even Oslo.

The podcast attracts around 175,000 downloads a week – peaking at a million during last year's World Cup. But their Twitter feed has fewer than 57,000 followers – a relatively modest figure for a top ten recording artist.

This is the second time the team have released a paid-for compilation, but last time Apple pulled it from the store within a day 'with no explanation'. 'But this time we know that they've actually checked the content and approved it so it should stay in the store,' Campbell said.

Published: 10 Feb 2015