Browse through any streaming library, and you’ll find that films typically centre around topics like love, loss, adventure, good versus evil, resilience, and self-discovery. These overarching themes come up time and time again because they resonate universally with the human experience. In many ways, football has its own special way of capturing all of them in the thrill of the game or the battles off the pitch. The sport is inherently full of highs and lows, turmoil and absolute euphoria, and thoroughly challenges the tenacity of everyone involved.
If you’ve ever watched a football film, you’ll know very well the emotional rollercoaster it can subject you to, mimicking the unpredictability of the sport itself. And as with any great match, it can teach you plenty about fighting for something that matters. If you’re ready to get invested in a movie tonight, why not check out one of these iconic football films?
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
We can’t start this list with any movie other than the highest-grossing football film in the world—Bend It Like Beckham. The film follows the fictional story of Jess Bhamra, the daughter of British-Indian Punjabi Sikhs living in West London. While striving to pursue her dream of playing professional football, she must deal with her conservative family’s expectations and desire for her to pursue academics instead.
It’s a heartwarming coming-of-age story that explores gender roles in football, identity, and the push and pull when it comes to personal ambitions and traditional duty in UK immigrant communities.
Bend It Like Beckham doesn’t just highlight the excitement and pervasiveness of football among women—it also addresses the social dynamics and cultural tensions that can come with pursuing a passion.
Next Goal Wins (2014)
Not to be confused with the 2023 spin-off directed by Taika Waititi, the 2014 British documentary Next Goal Wins is a sensation among hardcore football fans and non-football fans alike. The documentary centres around the American Samoa national football team, which famously suffered the worst loss in international football history—an abysmal 31-0 loss to Australia—and struggled to shed its reputation as one of the weakest football teams to exist. The team’s sense of self-worth was so low that they consistently refused to work with film and TV crews up until Next Goal Wins. Because the film would focus on their resilience in the face of adversity, they agreed to participate, hoping to turn their luck around.
Across 14 weeks spread across two visits, cameras followed the team training in hopes of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and eventually hiring coach Thomas Rongen to train the team. Critics and the general audience fell in love with the film because it showcased the true beauty of football beyond the victories. Put on this film, and you’ll cheer for the underdogs, tear up at their humanity, and get a deeper understanding of football beyond the technicalities of the game.
Pelé (2021)
Occasionally, there are feature-length documentaries about iconic footballers whose life stories and impact on the game are too monumental to ignore. One of them is Pelé, the legendary forward who became one of the great athletes of the 20th century. A documentary simply titled Pelé was released in 2021, looking back at his incredible journey from a poverty-stricken life in Minas Gerais, Brazil, to worldwide fame. The film also explores football’s political and cultural impact in Brazil, with the sport being such a crux of the national identity.
Sports documentaries surrounding an icon are often used to humanise and delve deeper into an athlete beyond their public persona, and that’s exactly what Pelé does. It follows his career up until the New York Cosmos soccer team and features archival footage of his interviews, games, and more.
The Damned United (2009)
Many films about football typically focus on what goes on during the game, the dynamic between players, or the internal struggles of a footballer, but have you ever wanted to learn about the world of management? Managers have to deal with a whole other world of pressure and expectation when navigating the media, team politics, and big decisions that could make or break their careers.
The Damned United didn’t perform well in the slightest at the box office upon release, but it became critically acclaimed and received a variety of award nominations. It was adapted from the biographical novel of the same name, a story told from Brian Clough’s point of view during his 44-day stint as manager of Leeds United in the 1970s. The film uses a variety of flashbacks to explore Clough’s broader managerial career and expose the political and psychological tensions of being a football manager.
Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006)
Football has a massive presence and significance in a variety of countries across much of Europe and South America. But in other places such as North America, it often takes a backseat to sports like American football, hockey, and baseball. That’s why Once in a Lifetime is so intriguing. Although the premise seems unremarkable—tracing the rise and fall of a football team—it looks at how the New York Cosmos brought global attention to the sport in the United States. With the signing of international stars and the influence of key stakeholders, the club managed to ignite a real interest in the sport in a place where it struggled to hit the mainstream.
If you’re in the mood for even more entertainment after watching one of these football classics, consider playing online games — a fun way to take a quick break before diving into your next football flick.
