There are many famous films about men's football, such as Fever Pitch, Green Street Hooligans and The Damned United. In general, there are relatively few films about women's football, and here are 10 films about women's football collected for everyone.
An Equal Playing Field – 2015
It's a documentary about U.S. striker Christen Press, who scored one of two goals in the semi-finals to help the U.S. beat England. An Equal Playing Field, a short documentary featured on TakePart, has produced "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Food, Inc." and other documentaries.
The documentary recounts Preece's journey as a professional footballer, including the obstacles and twists and turns she has had to face in order to make her career last. Although short, it is a great documentary for those interested in women's professional football.
Her Best Move – 2007
The family comedy tells the story of a 15-year-old soccer prodigy, Sara Davis. Davis' dream came true and he got the chance to play for the U.S. women's national team. But she had to deal with the realities of her teenage years, including schooling, falling in love, working part-time and family pressures. She began sacrificing everything for the game and also decided to start a relationship with a boy at school.
The film focuses on how Davis develops self-awareness while playing football. The game and the pressure allowed her to quickly become strong and take control of her life.
8. Khartoum Offside – 2019
The 2019 documentary is about a group of young women in Khartoum trying to gain enough recognition to join FIFA, but face major problems from Sudan's Islamic government. In a very interesting clip, a woman describes how to play football in a headscarf. Not much context is given on why women are banned from playing soccer, which is part of the Public Order Act, like the ban on "unethical behavior" such as smoking and drinking. While the team is still marginalized, the film manages to give the audience hope that the woman is fearless and brave.
7. "Gracie" ( 2007
There are very few soccer movies based on American players, but Soccer Girl is one of them. The film takes place in 1978, when Article IX of the 1972 Amendment To the Education Act had not yet actually been implemented. Organized women's soccer is still rare in the United States. Gracie tried to play soccer with the boys by asking the school for permission. But she had to overcome her disapproval parents and the team that didn't support her. Eventually, they decided to let her play. The film has a happy and successful twist.
6 Dare To Dream: The Story Of The US Women's Soccer Team – 2005
This sports documentary is about the rise of the U.S. women's soccer team. The film begins in the 1980s, when the team was still relatively unknown. However, major players like Brandy Chastain, Mia Hamm, Julie Foddy, Kristen Lily and Joey Fawcett outpaced many of the teams of the time, winning their second Olympic gold medal in 2004. The 77-minute documentary details interviews with the five athletes mentioned above.
Dared to Dream was broadcast on HBO in 2005 and released on DVD in 2007. Some of the content can still be found online.
5. Let The Girls Play – 2018
This 2018 French comedy is based on the true story of France's first all-women's football team. It began in Lance in the 1960s and was led by sports journalist Paul Coutard and his assistant Emmanuelle Bruno. They were told it was impossible, but they stuck with it.
It's a bit frustrating that the story of France's first women's soccer team was told from the point of view of a man, not from the point of view of Emmanuel or other players, but the film is still good. The French name of the film is Common des Garçons.
4. Offside – 2006
The Iranian film, directed by Jafar Panahi, tells the story of girls who want to watch World Cup qualifiers but are banned for gender. Determined to go to the game, one girl disguised herself as a boy to compete, but was caught and locked in a fence on the roof of the stadium along with several other girls who tried to do so.
Like Khartoum Offside, conservative governments do not allow women to enter because they believe they will be subjected to violence or abuse by conservatives at home. The film was shot inside an actual stadium in Iran during the actual qualifiers for the Iranian national team. The film was banned in Iran.
3. She's The Man – 2006
Amanda Bynes plays Viola, whose older brother Sebastian is a footballer at an elite boarding school. His school cut his soccer team, so when he decided to skip school for a few weeks, this into Viola disguised herself as a boy and joined the team instead of him. Of course, she fell in love with the star players on the team, and when people thought she was a man, she fell into a strange love triangle. It's basically a romantic comedy, but there's a lot to the audience to praise.
2. Football Under Cover – 2008
This German/Iranian documentary tells the story of German footballer Marlene Asman and her Iranian friend Ayat Najafi trying to organize a match between the Iranian and German women's teams. The duo's job is to bring the German women's amateur team BSV AL-Dersimspor to Tehran to play against the Iranian women's national team. However, they encountered many obstacles, including lack of funds, the government's hesitation in issuing visas, difficulty in obtaining game ads, and strict compliance with the dress code of Iranian law.
However, the team from Berlin did come to Tehran in secret. Despite all the political challenges and cultural differences, the love of football brought the two teams together to play a historic match.
Bend It Like Beckham –2002
The 2002 film, starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, tells the story of a girl named Jess who rebels against her conservative Sikh family in order to play soccer. Admittedly, it's a romantic comedy, but social commentary is undercurrents, stereotypes of women in football, and a fusion of the two cultures, and how the children of immigrants learn to navigate both cultures.
The film was unexpected by critics and received a lot of popular support. It's still one of the most popular women's football movies. The film's English title, "Bend It Like Beckham," refers to David Beckham's talent for free-kick scoring, which he can score around a wall.