List of association football films

The following is a list of films featuring association football (soccer).

List

Title	Year	Genre	Notes
Harry the Footballer	1911	Drama	Silent film about a star player being kidnapped by the opposition. However, they are foiled by his girl-friend, just in time for him to get to the match and score the winning goal.
The Winning Goal	1920	Drama	Silent film about a fictional team called the Blackton Rovers.
The Great Game	1930	Comedy	British film about fictional Manningford F.C.
Sportszerelem	1936	Comedy
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery	1939	Crime comedy	When a player is poisoned during a match, Detective Inspector Slade must investigate. [1]
Das große Spiel	1942	Comedy
O Leão da Estrela	1947	Comedy-drama	This Arthur Duarte movie includes original images of the Portuguese cup final Porto – Sporting
The Great Game	1953	Comedy-drama	The chairman of a British club is penalized for approaching a player from a rival team.
The Love Match	1955	Comedy	Arthur Askey stars as a football mad train driver, with Thora Hird as his wife who takes in a referee as a lodger.
Két félidő a pokolban	1961	Drama	Based on 1942's The Death Match between team in modern-day Ukraine (including players from Dynamo Kyiv) and a German Wehrmacht side.
Garrincha: Hero of the Jungle	1962	Documentary	Brazilian film on the career of then-current superstar Garrincha.
Третий тайм (The Third Half)	1962	Drama	Also based on 1942's The Death Match
Fútbol México 70	1970	Documentary	The 1970 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico.
Dhanyee Meye	1971	Comedy
Pirveli mertskhali	1975	Comedy-drama	Passionate and talented sportsman Jason founded the first ever Georgian football team in the seaport of Poti
Mohunbaganer Meye	1976
Yesterday's Hero	1979	Drama	Ian McShane as a former football player turned alcoholic.
Coup de tête	1979	Comedy/Drama	French film about player kicked off the team for fighting with the star.
El Chanfle	1979	Comedy	Chespirito as a waterboy for a Mexican team whose life unexpectedly changes when his wife gets pregnant.
La Fiesta de Todos	1979	Documentary	The 1978 FIFA World Cup held in Argentina.
Escape to Victory	1981	War	Loosely based on The Death Match, with Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine; released in North America as Victory. [1]
Gregory's Girl	1981	Comedy	Scottish teen tale directed by Bill Forsyth. [1]
A Captain's Tale	1982	Drama/documentary	Film made for TV, about an "international" tournament (mainly 1909) in which West Auckland town somehow get invited to take part.
Those Glory Glory Days	1983	Drama	A group of girls growing up in 1960–61 London develop an interest in football and Tottenham Hotspur. [1]
The Champions	1983	Comedy	Lee Tung (Yuen Biao) gets taunted by rival football teams.
Piłkarski poker	1988	Comedy-drama	Polish film about the corruption in football environment directed by Janusz Zaorski.
Ultra	1991	Drama	Italian film.
Cup Final	1991	Drama	Israeli film about a kidnapping during the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
Ladybugs	1992	Comedy	Rodney Dangerfield as a soccer coach who makes a boy suit up as a girl.
An Impossible Job	1994	Documentary
The Big Green	1995	Family Comedy	A British woman teaches soccer to Texas school kids.
The Final Goal	1995	Drama	An Idealistic pro soccer player is pressured to throw the biggest game of his life.
I.D.	1995	Drama	Four police officers go undercover to investigate thugs on East London soccer team.
Fever Pitch	1997	Romantic comedy	Colin Firth in an adaptation of Nick Hornby's book about Arsenal. [2]
When Saturday Comes	1996	Drama	A factory worker (Sean Bean) is recruited by professional football clubs. [2]
The Cup	1999	Comedy	Buddhist monks in a remote Himalayan monastery try to obtain a television for the monastery to watch the 1998 World Cup final.
Soccer Dog: The Movie	1999	Family comedy	An orphan's dog has an uncanny skill at soccer.
Home Team	1999	Family comedy	Ex-pro football player (Steve Guttenberg) is sentenced to serve as a handyman at a boys' home.
Switching Goals	1999	Family comedy	Twin sisters (Olsen twins), total opposites, become soccer opponents.
Air Bud: World Pup	2000	Family comedy	Direct-to-video film in the Air Bud series.
The Goalkeeper	2000	Drama	The plot follows the mishaps of Ramiro Forteza, a goalie arriving to an Asturian village in 1948, coming to acquaint both with the Guardia Civil and the Maquis
There's Only One Jimmy Grimble	2000	Comedy-drama	A 15-year-old's goal is to play for Manchester City.
Shaolin Soccer	2001	Comedy	Hong Kong comedy about a football-playing monk. [3]
A Shot at Glory	2001	Drama	A coach (Robert Duvall) tries to get his team to the Scottish Cup final.
Mean Machine	2001	Comedy-drama	Adaptation of The Longest Yard with association football instead of American football. Stars former footballer Vinnie Jones.
Mike Bassett: England Manager	2001	Comedy	Manager from lower leagues becomes manager of England national football team, aims for World Cup in Brazil.
The Game of Their Lives	2002	Documentary	Chronicles North Korea national team that made surprising run to quarterfinals of 1966 FIFA World Cup.
Bend It Like Beckham	2002	Comedy-drama	Two teenaged girls in England (Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley) try out for football. [3]
Garrincha: Lonely Star	2003	Documentary	Brazilian documentary examining the spectacular playing career and troubled off-field life of Garrincha, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of his birth and 20th of his death.
Just for Kicks	2003	Comedy	Story of soccer-playing twin brothers (Dylan and Cole Sprouse).
The Miracle of Bern	2003	Drama	Set against backdrop of 1954 FIFA World Cup Final, which became known in Germany as the "Miracle of Bern". [1]
The Other Final	2003	Documentary	Match between Bhutan and Montserrat, lowest-ranked teams in FIFA World Rankings, held on same day as 2002 FIFA World Cup Final.
United	2003	Romantic comedy	Norway film.
Pelé Eterno	2004	Documentary
Soccer Dog: European Cup	2004	Comedy	Sequel to 1999 children's film.
Guys and Balls	2004	Comedy	A gay goalkeeper assembles a gay-only soccer team to play against his ex-team, which fired him due to homophobia.
Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team	2005	Documentary	A history of the US women's national team.
Goal!	2005	Drama	Santiago Muñez (Kuno Becker), a Mexican youth in U.S. illegally, gets an opportunity to play in England.
Green Street	2005	Drama	Starring Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam. A film about football hooliganism in England.
Kicking & Screaming	2005	Family comedy	Will Ferrell screwball comedy about coaching soccer. [2]
Real, The Movie	2005	Documentary	Explores history of Real Madrid, incorporating some fictional elements.
The Game of Their Lives	2005	Drama	Based on USA's massive upset of England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
Merry Christmas aka Joyeux Noël	2005	Drama	During World War I, soldiers put aside differences to play a game of soccer.
Garpastum	2005	Drama	Two brothers in 1914 on the eve of the outbreak of World War I wish to build a football stadium.
Goal II: Living the Dream	2006	Drama	Continuation of 2005 story, with Santiago switching from Newcastle to Real Madrid.
Offside	2006	Comedy	Sweden film.
Offside	2006	Drama	Iranian film about girls trying to see Iran's qualifier against Bahrain. [1]
Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos	2006	Documentary	Matt Dillon narrates story of North American Soccer League club, with player interviews.
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait	2006	Documentary	Chronicles life and career of Zinedine Zidane. [2]
She's the Man	2006	Comedy	Amanda Bynes disguises herself so she can play with the boys.
Sixty Six	2006	Comedy/Drama	The misadventures surrounding a London boy's bar mitzvah that conflicts with the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final. Based on the real-life bar mitzvah of the film's director Paul Weiland, which took place on that specific day.
Gracie	2007	Drama	New Jersey girl battles to play on boys' team. Loosely based on Elisabeth Shue, who co-produced film and plays girl's mother.
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal	2007	Drama
Her Best Move	2007	Comedy	A 15-year-old girl has a shot to make the US national team.
Maradona by Kusturica	2008	Documentary	A look at the career of Diego Maradona.
Kicking It	2008	Documentary	Colin Farrell narrates a look at the Homeless World Cup.
Soccer Mom	2008	Comedy	TV family movie starring Missi Pyle.
Football with a Cause	2009	Documentary	Académica Coimbra team resistance against Portuguese dictatorship, shown to world in cup final against Benfica in 1969
The Damned United	2009	Drama	A fictionalized version of Brian Clough's tenure as manager of Leeds United. [3]
Goal! 3: Taking on the World	2009	Drama	Direct-to-video third part of trilogy following the experiences of a Mexican footballer in Europe.
Offside	2009	Romantic comedy	Story about rival footballers in Australia.
A Time for Champions	2009	Documentary	Made for TV. Explores history of soccer in St. Louis, focusing on Saint Louis University in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Looking for Eric	2009	Fiction	Eric Bishop is a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis. When he gets high his idol Eric Cantona appears to him and offers him advice. [3]
One Night in Turin	2010	Documentary	Chronicles England's run in the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Tim Cahill: The Unseen Journey	2010	Documentary	Australian made-for-TV film following Socceroos star Tim Cahill during the run-up to the team's appearance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The Referee	2010	Documentary	Film about Swedish soccer referee Martin Hansson and his dramatic journey to 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The Two Escobars	2010	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. Explores lives of footballer Andrés Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar, and links between murders of both men. [2]
For the Glory	2011	Drama
Egaro	2011	Drama	Indian Bengali team Mohun Bagan wins 1911 IFA Shield against mighty British team East Yorkshire Regiment in Calcutta under background circumstances of Partition of Bengal of 1905.
The Four Year Plan	2011	Documentary	Chronicles the 2007 takeover of nearly bankrupt Queens Park Rangers by a group of billionaires and their attempt to get the club promoted to the Premier League by 2011.
The Last Proletarians of Football	2011	Documentary	Swedish film exploring the 1980s "golden age" of IFK Göteborg amid the backdrop of significant changes to Swedish society.
Lucky Trouble	2011	Comedy	A school teacher is mistaken for a football coach and ends up training a group of juvenile delinquents for the Russian Youth Soccer Cup.
Will	2011	Drama	After losing his parents, 12-year-old journeys across Europe to witness 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, which features dad's favorite football club Liverpool.
United	2011	Drama	Based on the true story of the Munich air disaster which claimed 23 lives including lives of eight Manchester United players. In the aftermath of the disaster a makeshift United team reached the 1958 FA Cup Final against all odds.
Abby Head On	2011	Documentary	ESPN Film about soccer phenom Abby Wambach
Playing for Keeps	2012	Romantic comedy	A former professional star (Gerard Butler) coaches a kids' team.
Metegol	2013	Comedy	Argentine computer-animated film about a man who plays foosball who tried to protect a whole town with his help with his foosball players to play real soccer.
The Other Sport	2013	Documentary	3-part TV series about the history and developments inside women's soccer in Sweden.
The Class of '92	2013	Documentary	Chronicles the rise of six young Manchester United players—David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, and Paul Scholes—from the club's 1992 FA Youth Cup win, featuring four of the group, to United's Treble victory in 1999.
The 99ers	2013	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's Nine for IX series. An insider account of the 1999 US World Cup soccer team that broke new ground for women's sports
The Whistle	2013	Documentary	Winner of the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Short Film, The Whistle is a documentary about a soccer referee who has reached a critical crossroads in his life
Eighteam	2014	Documentary	Spanish–Zambian co-production. Explores the recent history of the Zambia national team—from promise in the late 1980s, to unspeakable tragedy in 1993, resurrection in 1994, and ultimate victory in 2012.
Hillsborough	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as an ESPN–BBC co-production. A 25-year retrospective of the Hillsborough disaster, featuring many accounts from fans in attendance, police officers, and victims' family members. First aired in the U.S. as part of the 30 for 30 series in 2014; first aired in the UK in 2016.
Messi	2014	Documentary	Spanish film exploring the rise of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.
Next Goal Wins	2014	Documentary	British film about American Samoa team trying to qualify for World Cup. [1]
United Passions	2014	Drama	French film about origins of FIFA.
White, Blue and White	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. After victory in the 1978 World Cup, Argentines Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa become cult heroes at Tottenham Hotspur, but later find themselves torn by the impending conflict between Argentina and Britain.
The Opposition	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 Soccer Stories Series. Chile hosts a World Cup qualifier in a stadium that only months earlier had been used as a concentration camp
Maradona '86	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 Soccer Stories Series. In the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Diego Maradona redefined what is possible for one man to accomplish on the soccer field.
Ceasefire Massacre	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 Soccer Stories Series. On 18 June 1994, as the Republic of Ireland World Cup team played in New Jersey, six fans were gunned down 24 miles south of Belfast.
The Myth of Garrincha	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 Soccer Stories Series. A profile of Brazilian association football icon Mané Garrincha.
Mysteries of the Rimet Trophy	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 Soccer Stories Series. The Jules Rimet Trophy, the holy grail of sport trophies, was the target of numerous thefts and ultimately disappeared without a trace
Barbosa: The Man Who Made Brazil Cry	2014	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 Soccer Stories Series. A look at Brazilian goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa Nascimento and how a costly mistake in the 1950 FIFA World Cup which cost Brazil the title and impacted his countrymen
Boca Juniors 3D	2015	Documentary	Argentinian film exploring the history of Boca Juniors.
Ronaldo	2015	Documentary	Filmmaker Anthony Wonke examines the life and career of famed soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.
Pelé: Birth of a Legend	2016		Film that examines the life and career of Pelé.
Becoming Zlatan	2016	Documentary	Swedish film that explores the early life and football development of Zlatan Ibrahimović, leading up to his international breakthrough in 2005 with Juventus.
Ola Bola	2016	Comedy/Drama	Malaysia first sport football film exploring the real story about Malaysia during qualifying to 1980 Summer Olympics.
Bo66y	2016	Documentary	A film which marks the 50th anniversary of England's victory in the 1966 World Cup.
George Best: All By Himself	2017	Documentary	Made for TV as part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. George Best was one of the most naturally gifted footballers ever, lifting Manchester United to new prominence a decade after its unspeakable tragedy—but alcoholism ended his football career while he was still in his twenties.
Early Man	2018	Comedy	British stop-motion film following Dug and his Stone Age tribe who must beat Lord Nooth's Bronze Age team at football to reclaim their land. [3]
The Bromley Boys	2018	Comedy	British film about a boy from Bromley who wants to become a football manager, and becomes a football mamager.
Diamantino	2018	Comedy-drama	The film follows Premiere association football star Diamantino after he loses his special touch and ends his career in disgrace.
Trautmann (The Keeper)	2018	Drama	The film tells the story of Bert Trautmann, a German prisoner of war who became a football legend in England.
City of Dreams	2023	Drama	Young Mexican association football player is trafficked into the United States.
Next Goal Wins	2023	Comedy-drama	Feature film based on the 2014 documentary
The Beautiful Game	2024	Drama	Film about a squad of English homeless footballers who are led by their coach Mal, to compete in Rome at the global annual football tournament, the Homeless World Cup.
Iluminados	2024	Documentary	Peruvian film that explores the Liga 1 2023 final between classic rivals Universitario de Deportes and Alianza Lima, ending with the victory of the former for the third time.
#SeAcabó: Diario de las campeonas	2024	Documentary	Netflix Spain production recounting the Spain women's national team's run to the 2023 World Cup crown and the controversy that followed the win.
U.S. Palmese	2024	Comedy	A star footballer is transferred from Paris Saint-Germain FC to US Palmese in Calabria, Italy.

See also

• List of sports films
• List of highest-grossing sports films

References

1. "10 great football films". BFI. 2014-06-12. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
2. Young, Neil; Roxborough, Scott; Ritman, Alex; Rahman, Abid (2022-11-20). "Goal! The 22 Best Soccer Movies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
3. "10 Best Soccer Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer". SportsEngine. Retrieved 2024-11-05.