With so many football TV shows, films and documentaries out there, you're spoiled for choice when it comes to watching the beautiful game, even when there isn't a game on.
Well, we've compiled the best ones, from the real-life tales of heartbreak and steel in the sport to silly comedies starring sitcom stars. Whether you're looking for Mike Bassett, Ted Lasso or Sir Alex Ferguson, there's so much to see.
Whatever you're in the mood for, we've got you covered.
TV shows
Ted Lasso (2020-)
Network: Apple TV+
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Phil Dunster
Synopsis: An American Football coach makes the transition to the Premier League – but while he's expected to flop in England, Ted's infectious personality is a hit with fans and staff alike.
Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ now - and get 7 days for free when you sign up
2. Dream Team (1997-2007)
Network: Sky One
Starring: Alison King, Nina Muschallik, Frankie Fitzgerald
Synopsis: The on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United Football Club are charted with a spectacular rise and fall.
Watch Dream Team on DailyMotion / Buy the complete collection from Amazon
3. Mike Bassett: Manager (2005)
Network: ITV
Starring: Ricky Tomlinson, Amanda Redman, Steve Edge
Synopsis: Three years after the events of Mike Bassett: England Manager, the hapless boss returns to Wirral County.
Watch Mike Bassett: Manager on YouTube / Buy the complete series from Amazon
4. The English Game (2020)
Network: Netflix
Starring: Julian Fellowes, Tony Charles, Oliver Cotton
Synopsis: In the 1870s, football in Great Britain was a sport for the wealthy. A working-class star and his upper-class counterpart come together to change the game forever.
Watch The English Game on Netflix
5. Jamie Johnson (2016-)
Network: CBBC
Starring: Louis Dunn, Jonnie Kimmins, Patrick Ward, Emma Stansfield, Tim Dantay
Synopsis: Jamie Johnson negotiates secondary school and issues at home, along with being a talented footballer.
Watch Jamie Johnson on BBC iPlayer
Films
1. The Damned United (2009)
Directed by: Tom Hooper
Starring: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent
Synopsis: Brian Clough takes over at Leeds United – but his spell at the club is short-lived and ill-fated.
Watch The Damned United on Prime Video
2. Mike Bassett: England Manager (2002)
Directed by: Steve Barron
Starring: Ricky Tomlinson, Amanda Redman, Bradley Walsh
Synopsis: The England manager's job goes to a rookie in the shape of Mike Bassett – but though Bassett tinkers with formations and personnel, he just can't seem to get the best out of his team.
Watch Mike Bassett: England Manager on Prime Video
3. Goal! (2005)
Directed by: Danny Cannon
Starring: Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola, Marcel Iures, Stephen Dillane, Anna Friel
Synopsis: Santiago Munez is a young man from a rough background, offered the chance to trial with one of England's top football clubs.
4. Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Directed by: Gurinder Chadha
Starring: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Synopsis: Jesminder Bhamra is the 18-year-old daughter of British Indian Sikhs, seeking a career in football - much to the disapproval of her family.
Watch Bend It Like Beckham on Prime Video
5. Escape To Victory (1981)
Directed by: John Huston
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow, Pele
Synopsis: Allied prisoners of war, who are interned in a German prison camp during the Second World War, play an exhibition match of football against a German team. There are star cameos from legendary players.
Watch Escape to Victory on Prime Video
6. United (2011)
Directed by: James Strong
Starring: David Tennant, Jack O'Connell, Sam Claflin, Dougray Scott
Synopsis: Manchester United assistant manager Jimmy Murphy and player Bobby Charlton are the focus, in this true story about the Busby Babes.
7. Looking For Eric (2009)
Directed by: Ken Loach
Starring: Eric Cantona, Steve Evets, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Matthew McNulty
Synopsis: One down-on-his-luck football fan begins seeing a vision of his hero, Eric Cantona, played by the United star himself. In time, Cantona helps him turn things around.
Watch Looking For Eric on Prime Video
8. Goal II: Living the Dream (2007)
Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra
Starring: Kuno Becker, Stephen Dillane, Anna Friel, Leonor Varela
Synopsis: Star of the first movie, Santiago Munez, transfers from Newcastle United to Real Madrid – and lives the Galactico dream in the Spanish capital.
Watch Goal II: Living the Dream on Prime Video
9. The Football Factory (2004)
Directed by: Nick Love
Starring: Danny Dyer, Frank Harper, Tamer Hassan, Roland Manookian
Synopsis: A Chelsea fan and hooligan, who lives for violence, sex, drugs and alcohol, has an epiphany about his life.
Watch The Football Factory on Prime Video
10. Shaolin Soccer (2001)
Directed by: Stephen Chow
Starring: Stephen Chow, Zhao Wei, Ng Man-tat, Patrick Tse
Synopsis: Dedicated Shaolin practitioner Sing is determined to re-unite his brothers to apply the ancient art of Shaolin to football.
Watch Shaolin Soccer on Prime Video
11. Mean Machine (2001)
Directed by: Barry Skolnick
Starring: Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham, David Hemmings
Synopsis: Danny Mehan was one of the biggest stars in football until he was caught rigging a match: while in prison he leads his inmates in a game against the prison guards.
Watch Mean Machine on Prime Video
12. Goal III: Taking On The World (2009)
Directed by: Andrew Morahan
Starring: JJ Feild, Leo Gregory, Kuno Becker, Nick Moran, Tamer Hassan
Synopsis: Munez takes a backseat as the story follows two English players at the World Cup.
Watch Goal III: Taking On The World on Prime Video
Documentaries
1. All or Nothing (2015-)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: With unrivalled access to a football club, the Amazon cameras go deep into the seasons of some of the biggest sides on Earth.
Watch Manchester City: All or Nothing on Amazon Prime / Watch Tottenham Hotspur: All or Nothin on Amazon Prime / Watch Juventus: All or Nothing on Amazon Prime / Watch Brazil National Team: All or Nothing on Amazon Prime
2. Fever Pitch! The Rise of the Premier League (2021)
Network: BBC
Synopsis: The biggest figures of the Premier League tell the complete, unfiltered story of how the world's greatest league became what it is today.
Watch Fever Pitch: The Rise of the Premier League on BBC iPlayer
3. The Class of 92 (2013)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: Manchester United's academy graduates of the early 1990s tell their stories.
Watch The Class of 92 on Amazon Prime
4. Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In (2021)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: Sir Alex Ferguson looks back on his life, following a life-threatening illness in 2018.
Watch Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In on Amazon Prime
5. 89 (2020)
Network: Sky
Synopsis: The incredible tale of Arsenal's 1988/89 title win, as told by those who made it happen and those who witnessed the championship showdown at Anfield.
6. Take the Ball, Pass the Ball (2018)
Synopsis: The story of Barcelona's irresistable rise, with interviews from players and Pep Guardiola himself.
Watch Take the Ball, Pass the Ball on Amazon Prime
7. The State of Play (2019)
Network: BT Sport
Synopsis: This BT Sport Film looks at the strengths and flaws of the modern game from the perspective of players, managers, clubs and society. Featuring Gareth Bale, Jadon Sancho and more.
Watch The State of Play on BT Sport
8. Greavsie (2020)
Network: BT Sport
Synopsis: The rise and fall of one of England's greatest ever sporting icons, Jimmy Greaves.
9. Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager (2018)
Synopsis: The story of one of England's greatest ever coaching talents, with sharp focus on his season-long stint at Barcelona.
Watch Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager on Amazon Prime
10. The United Way (2021)
Network: MadMan Films
Synopsis: Presented by the peerless Eric Cantona and featuring stunning archive and never before seen footage, The United Way celebrates the birth and growth of Manchester United.
Watch The United Way on Amazon Prime
11. Alex Scott: The Future of Women’s Football (2022)
Synopsis: England legend Alex Scott takes a closer look at football, the recent explosion in popularity of the women's game and what the future may hold.
Watch Alex Scott: The Future of Women’s Football on YouTube / Watch Alex Scott: The Future of Women’s Football on BBC iPlayer
12. Warnock (2005)
Synopsis: Cameras follow around Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock during the 2004/05 Championship season.
13. Becoming Zlatan (2015)
Network: StudioCanal
Synopsis: Becoming Zlatan follows the decisive years of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, told through rare archive footage from his debut with Malmo FF in 1999, through his conflict-ridden years with Ajax and up to his final breakthrough with Juventus in 2005.
Watch Becoming Zlatan on Amazon
14. Inside Borussia Dortmund (2019)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: Players' professional and personal lives are viewed in this insightful documentary digging deeper on the beloved Bundesliga giants.
Watch Inside Borussia Dortmund on Amazon Prime
15. Managing England: The Impossible Job (1994)
Network: BBC
Synopsis: BBC Sport traces the history of one of the toughest jobs in sport, the England football manager, featuring rare archive footage and new interviews.
Watch Managing England: The Impossible Job on YouTube
16. Les Bleus: Une Autre Histoire de France (2016)
Network: Netflix
Synopsis: The story of the French national team from 1998 to 2016, told by some of the leading figures in the nation's sporting landscape.
Buy Les Bleus, Une Autre Histoire De France on Amazon
17. Sunderland ‘Til I Die (2018-2020)
Network: Netflix
Synopsis: Football is more than just the beautiful game to the city of Sunderland. When support and passion transcends the pitch it makes or breaks a community.
Watch Sunderland Till I Die on Netflix
18. Diego Maradona (2019)
Network: HBO
Synopsis: Over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona's personal archive are used to build this incredible image of one of the world's greatest-ever players.
Watch Maradona on Amazon Prime
19. Next Goal Wins (2014)
Network: Icon Film Distribution Ltd
Synopsis: Thomas Rongen, a Dutch football coach is hired to lead the national team for American Samoa, as he attempts to manage the team to its first victory ever, in international competition, during qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup.
Watch Next Goal Wins on Amazon
20. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
Synopsis: Following a disaster at Leeds United, Nottingham Forest hire Brian Clough. Using unseen footage of games and including interviews with every player from Clough’s European Cup-winning side, I Believe in Miracles is the untold story of how the team nobody believed in and the manager nobody wanted went on to beat the world’s best and become one of the greatest sides in British football history.
Watch I Believe In Miracles on Amazon
21. The Game of Their Lives (2001)
Synopsis: The true story of how the North Korean football team stunned everyone at the 1966 World Cup with one of the greatest upsets ever.
Watch The Game of their Lives on Vimeo
22. One Night in Turin (2010)
Synopsis: English football has been tarnished by the 1980s – but across six weeks in Italy, the England national team look to broadcast a better image of the beautiful game.
Watch One Night In Turin on Amazon Prime
23. Six Dreams (2018)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: A club President, two rising stars, a Sports Director of a recently promoted team, a veteran idol from Mexico and a beloved coach are all followed this documentary about La Liga.
Watch Six Dreams on Amazon Prime
24. Take Us Home: Leeds United (2019–2020)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: Following last season’s heartbreak, Leeds United embark on a new season with renewed hope of reaching the Premier League.
Watch Take Us Home: Leeds United on Amazon Prime
25. Arsene Wenger: Invincible (2021)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: Arsene Wenger looks back at his career, with a little help from rivals, former players and friends.
Watch Arsene Wenger: Invincible on Amazon Prime
26. Rooney (2022)
Network: Amazon
Synopsis: Unprecedented access to the life and career of a global sports star and England’s greatest ever striker, Rooney takes a look back on the career of Wayne Rooney.
Free FFT Films
1. Sir Alex Ferguson: The Untold Stories
2. Neymar: The Making of a Superstar
3. The Science of the Penalty Shoot-Out
4. Cristiano Ronaldo: Relentless
5. Spain 2010: The story of La Roja's era-defining triumph
6. Ronaldo's Redemption
7. Gabriel Jesus: My Path To Greatness
8. Lionel Messi: The Moments That Made Me
9. The Exit Trial: One Game To Save A Career
10. How to win the Champions League: Starring Lionel Messi, Xabi Alonso, Javier Zanetti and more
11. Meet the Thai Messi: Chanathip 'Jay' Songkrasin
12. Non-league to Premier League: The stories of Jamie Vardy, Charlie Austin and Michail Antonio
13. Strikers: The Art of Goalscoring
