{ "id": "ephgk34yyf", "slug": "the-beautiful-game-2024-film", "title": "The Beautiful Game (2024 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Beautiful Game (2024) is a Netflix sports drama directed by Thea Sharrock, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, starring Bill Nighy and Micheal Ward as coach and striker of England's fictional Homeless World Cup team in Rome.", "snippet": "The Beautiful Game (2024) is a Netflix sports drama directed by Thea Sharrock, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, starring Bill Nighy and Micheal Ward as coach and striker of England's fictional Homeless World Cup team in Rome.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2023-and-2024.alpha-a-to-g", "markdown": "# The Beautiful Game (2024 film)\n\n*The Beautiful Game* is a 2024 British sports drama film directed by Thea Sharrock and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, in which [Bill Nighy](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-nighy) plays Mal, the manager of England's homeless football team, who takes his players to Rome for the [Homeless World Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/homeless-world-cup), a real global street soccer tournament.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) [Micheal Ward](https://www.edgepedia.org/micheal-ward) co-stars as Vinny, a talented striker Mal recruits at the last minute, who can give the team a real chance at winning only if he lets go of his past and becomes part of the team.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) The film was made with the support of the Homeless World Cup Foundation and was released in limited theaters on March 25, 2024, before streaming on Netflix from March 29, 2024.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / writer | Thea Sharrock; screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) |\n| Lead cast | Bill Nighy (Mal), Micheal Ward (Vinny), Valeria Golino[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) • [2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-beautiful-game-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde5mtkx) |\n| Release | Limited theatrical release March 25, 2024; Netflix streaming March 29, 2024[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) |\n| Runtime / rating | 125 minutes (BBFC 125m 44s); PG-13 for some language, a suggestive reference, brief partial nudity and drug references[2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-beautiful-game-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde5mtkx) • [3](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9) |\n| Production | Blueprint Pictures with Film4 and Wildside; producers include Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin, Colin Farrell, Ben Knight, and Anita Overland[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) |\n| Critical reception | 88% Tomatometer from 41 reviews; Metascore 60 from 10 reviews; audience score 66% on the Popcornmeter[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-beautiful-game/) |\n| Real-world basis | Inspired by the Homeless World Cup, first held in 2003; the film's Rome setting is fictional[5](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/film/the-beautiful-game-netflix-homeless-world-cup-explained/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and premise\n\nMal (Nighy) is a longtime coach of England's homeless football team. He takes his squad, whose members have experienced homelessness, are in recovery, or are asylum seekers, from London to Rome to compete in the Homeless World Cup, a global street soccer tournament.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) • [6](https://time.com/6961942/the-beautiful-game-true-story-netflix-homeless-world-cup/) At the last minute he brings Vinny (Ward), a talented striker who once had a promising professional career that fell through and who must confront his own issues to help the team and move on with his life.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113010/plotsummary/) • [6](https://time.com/6961942/the-beautiful-game-true-story-netflix-homeless-world-cup/)\n\nThe England squad includes Nathan (Callum Scott Howells), a heroin addict; Cal ([Kit Young](https://www.edgepedia.org/kit-young)); Kevin ([Tom Vaughan-Lawlor](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-vaughan-lawlor)); Aldar (Robin Nazari); and Jason (Sheyi Cole), who develops a crush on Rosita (Cristina Rodlo) of the American women's team.[3](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9) • [6](https://time.com/6961942/the-beautiful-game-true-story-netflix-homeless-world-cup/) Alongside the England storyline, the film gives subplots to Japan, a first-time team with an ambitious young coach (Aoi Okuyama); the American team with star player Rosita; and South Africa, led by the shrewd nun Protasia ([Susan Wokoma](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-wokoma)).[3](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9) Valeria Golino plays the tournament's host in Rome.[3](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9)\n\n## Relationship to the real tournament\n\nThe Homeless World Cup is real, but the film is a fictional story built around it. There has never been a Homeless World Cup in Rome; the closest host city has been Milan in 2009.[5](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/film/the-beautiful-game-netflix-homeless-world-cup-explained/) The tournament was founded in 2001 by Mel Young and Harald Schmied, with the first competition held in Graz, Austria, in 2003.[8](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/interview-director-thea-sharrock-and-homeless-world-cup-co-founder-mel-young-on-the-beautiful-game/) • [9](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/fifa-to-support-homeless-world-cup-after-agreement-signed-in-paris) In its first two decades nearly 70 countries and 1.2 million people have participated.[3](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9)\n\nThe on-screen game follows the tournament's actual format: four-a-side matches with rolling substitutions, played in two halves of seven minutes.[9](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/fifa-to-support-homeless-world-cup-after-agreement-signed-in-paris) Young, the co-founder and president of the Homeless World Cup Foundation, said the short format was designed deliberately so pitches could be placed where homeless people actually were and so players who were not fit enough for a full 90-minute match could still compete.[10](https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/homeless-world-cup-the-beautiful-game-movie/)\n\n**Authenticity in the cast.** The scriptwriters drew their inspiration from about 100 real-life stories and experiences from the tournament's history, and many of the non-speaking players in the film are former participants, whether as players, managers, or coaches.[11](https://inside.fifa.com/news/the-homeless-football-world-cup-in-seven-points) Real Homeless World Cup alumni appear on the American team, including Lisa Wrightsman, who played at the 2010 Rio tournament and coached the United States at the first U.S. Homeless World Cup in Sacramento in 2023; Angela Draws, who competed at Santiago 2014, also appears wearing a #4 jersey.[6](https://time.com/6961942/the-beautiful-game-true-story-netflix-homeless-world-cup/) Six players of Oasis FC, a South African club in Schaapkraal, appeared in the film, which was shot in Italy in 2022.[12](https://southernmail.co.za/news/2024-03-20-oasis-fc-players-star-in-netflix-movie/)\n\n## Production\n\nThe film was produced by Blueprint Pictures with support from Film4, with Wildside also credited, and was distributed by Netflix.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) Colin Farrell, who narrated the 2008 documentary *Kicking It* about the Homeless World Cup and later became an ambassador for the foundation, is one of the main producers.[3](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9) Football choreography was created by Mike Delaney, who worked with Sharrock, Nighy, and Ward, and with the original Homeless World Cup teams and body doubles to make the match sequences authentic; filming took place on location in Rome with additional scenes in [North London](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-london).[13](https://footballchoreographer.com/project/the-beautiful-game/) The British Board of Film Classification classified the film on February 7, 2024, noting moderate bad language and a storyline in which a man references a previous heroin addiction overcome through rehabilitation and methadone.[2](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-beautiful-game-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde5mtkx)\n\n## Reception\n\n**Critical response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 88% Tomatometer from 41 reviews, with a critics consensus noting its warmth while observing a reliance on well-worn clichés; the audience Popcornmeter stands at 66% from more than 100 ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 60 based on 10 reviews, categorized as mixed or average.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-beautiful-game/)\n\nReviewers repeatedly singled out the two leads. Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press, scoring it 75, wrote that the film is glossy and sanitized but thoughtfully explores redemption, invisibility, pride, and sportsmanship without being preachy.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113010/criticreviews/) [The Globe and Mail](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-globe-and-mail)'s review stated that the film \"shines because of Nighy,\" and Screen Daily's Fionnuala Halligan credited Nighy and Ward with \"the Tinker Bell sparkle of the true film-star.\"[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113010/criticreviews/) More critical voices included Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, who found the tropes familiar (score 40), and Roger Moore of Movie Nation, who called it a formula sports movie that aims low and comes up short (38).[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113010/criticreviews/) The Associated Press gave the film three stars out of four.[3](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9)\n\n**Impact.** The film's release gave the tournament a boost in recognition, according to FIFPRO, and the Homeless World Cup Foundation reported that the film was watched by millions worldwide after its Netflix release.[15](https://www.fifpro.org/en/articles/2025/08/how-the-homeless-world-cup-changes-lives) • [16](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/620fa2b385fdee7a3f84588d/t/66f7c1da13c2e133454e3468/1727513123219/CEH%2BREPORT%2B2024.pdf) In the United Kingdom it streamed on Netflix for 24 months, from March 29, 2024, until its removal on March 29, 2026.[17](https://uk.newonnetflix.info/info/81001287)\n\n## Title\n\n\"The Beautiful Game\" is a nickname for association football, popularized by the Brazilian star Pelé, though the phrase's origin has been traced through the 20th century and attributed to various commentators and journalists; the English commentator Stuart Hall used it as far back as 1958.[18](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-beautiful-game-release-date-photos) During development the film was known under the working title *The Homeless World Cup*.[19](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/the-beautiful-game)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Beautiful Game, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_beautiful_game)\n2. [The Beautiful Game, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-beautiful-game-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmde5mtkx)\n3. [Movie Review: Bill Nighy, Michael Ward shine in Netflix's Homeless World Cup crowd-pleaser, The Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/f1aebb285b5e9acffd2fc084c47097b9)\n4. [The Beautiful Game, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-beautiful-game/)\n5. [The Beautiful Game: Everything to know about Homeless World Cup film, The Big Issue](https://www.bigissue.com/culture/film/the-beautiful-game-netflix-homeless-world-cup-explained/)\n6. [How the Homeless World Cup Soccer Tournament Inspired the Netflix Drama The Beautiful Game, TIME](https://time.com/6961942/the-beautiful-game-true-story-netflix-homeless-world-cup/)\n7. [The Beautiful Game (2024) - Plot, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113010/plotsummary/)\n8. [Interview | Director Thea Sharrock and Homeless World Cup co-founder Mel Young on The Beautiful Game, Film Stories](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/interview-director-thea-sharrock-and-homeless-world-cup-co-founder-mel-young-on-the-beautiful-game/)\n9. [FIFA to support Homeless World Cup after agreement signed in Paris, FIFA](https://inside.fifa.com/media-releases/fifa-to-support-homeless-world-cup-after-agreement-signed-in-paris)\n10. [How sport can change lives: the real life story of the Homeless World Cup, World Economic Forum](https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/homeless-world-cup-the-beautiful-game-movie/)\n11. [The Homeless Football World Cup in seven points, FIFA](https://inside.fifa.com/news/the-homeless-football-world-cup-in-seven-points)\n12. [Oasis FC players star in Netflix movie, Southern Mail](https://southernmail.co.za/news/2024-03-20-oasis-fc-players-star-in-netflix-movie/)\n13. [Netflix Film The Beautiful Game, Mike Delaney, football choreographer](https://footballchoreographer.com/project/the-beautiful-game/)\n14. [The Beautiful Game (2024) - Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5113010/criticreviews/)\n15. [How the Homeless World Cup changes lives, FIFPRO](https://www.fifpro.org/en/articles/2025/08/how-the-homeless-world-cup-changes-lives)\n16. [How Storytelling Is Changing Perceptions of Homelessness, Centre for Homelessness Impact report](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/620fa2b385fdee7a3f84588d/t/66f7c1da13c2e133454e3468/1727513123219/CEH%2BREPORT%2B2024.pdf)\n17. [The Beautiful Game on Netflix UK, New On Netflix UK](https://uk.newonnetflix.info/info/81001287)\n18. [The Beautiful Game: Cast, Release Date, Photos and Plot, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-beautiful-game-release-date-photos)\n19. [The Beautiful Game, British Council UK Films Database](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/the-beautiful-game)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2023 and 2024 › Titles A to G*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beautiful-game-2024-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beautiful-game-2024-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Beautiful Game (2024 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beautiful-game-2024-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Beautiful Game (2024 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beautiful-game-2024-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beautiful-game-2024-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beautiful-game-2024-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Beautiful Game (2024 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beautiful-game-2024-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Beautiful Game is a Netflix sports drama directed by Thea Sharrock, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, starring Bill Nighy and Micheal Ward as coach and striker of England's fictional Homeless World Cup team in Rome." }