Ever since streaming services became popularised in the 2010s, football documentaries have become must-watch television for football fans across the globe. The best football documentaries aren't necessarily those that follow the biggest and best teams but rather those that feel the least scripted. Below, we've compiled a list of the best football documentaries and where to watch them.
Best football documentaries and where to watch them
The Two Escobars
The Two Escobars tells the remarkable and dark story of how a drug kingpin in Colombia ultimately cost the life of a footballer with the same surname. It was Pablo Escobar's drug money that had helped Colombia to become one of the best football teams on the planet heading into the 1994 World Cup but it was Andres Escobar's own goal that sent the country crashing out.
Andres' was murdered shortly after the tournament in what was assumed in retaliation to his mistake in the World Cup. The Two Escobars shows us how closely linked politics and sports are linked and in some countries, crime too.
Where to watch: Disney+
Sunderland ‘Til I Die
Sunderland ‘Til I Die was the first and best of its type. For whatever reason, Sunderland thought it would be a good idea to give a Netflix camera crew full access to the club from the dressing room to the boardroom and, unlike similar documentaries that have followed, absolutely nothing was watered down with the aim of making the club look good.
Season One follows Sunderland in their first season back in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League in 2017. Simon Grayson starts the series as manager talking about bouncing straight back to the big time while Chris Coleman finishes it as manager talking about how Sunderland will fare in League One following back-to-back relegations.
Season Two somehow trumps the first with the club's new Executive Director Charlie Methven stealing the show as a real-life David Brent.
Where to watch: Netflix
Rooney
The career of Wayne Rooney is made for television, from bursting onto the scene as a 16-year-old to ending his career as Manchester United‘s and England's record goalscorer. Lasting two hours, the documentary features the man himself talking candidly about the highs and lows of his career from winning trophies galore at club level to broken metatarsals and arguments with fans at international level.
Some big names who played alongside and against Rooney also feature in the documentary as does his wife, Coleen, who touches on some of the turbulent times in the England striker's personal life.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In
It is widely accepted that Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest football manager that has ever lived. He has written a couple of autobiographies but seeing his account of his life and career on screen is truly a spectacle. Ferguson is joined on screen by several of the players who played a key role in his success at United as they take a trip down memory lane.
The documentary doesn't just focus on Ferguson's career, either. The entire backdrop to the documentary is built around his brain haemorrhage in 2018 where the surgeon who performed emergency surgery on the Scot revealed that there was an 80% chance that he wouldn't survive.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
Welcome to Wrexham
When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney became owners of Wrexham, it felt inevitable that a documentary would be on the way. The two Hollywood actors have well and truly put Wrexham on the map over the years to the point where people are genuinely interested in the journey that the Welsh side are on.
The documentary tells all on why Reynolds and McElhenney decided to purchase the club and their plans for the future while also showing behind-the-scenes footage of Wrexham's promotion charge to the Football League.
Where to watch: Disney+
Beckham
David Beckham is an international superstar in his own right, almost to the point where people had forgotten he was also an elite footballer. That was until the release of ‘Beckham' on Amazon Prime where Beckham and his family talk through his life and all of its incidents from winning the treble with Manchester United to becoming a Franchise owner in the USA and everything in between.
Given how action-packed Beckham's life has been, the documentary is a four-parter so you will need to set an afternoon aside if you want to watch in one sitting.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
All or Nothing: Tottenham
Amazon's All or Nothing series has followed several sports teams across the world including the Dallas Cowboys, the New Zealand rugby team and several football teams. Its best iteration in English football is the season they followed Tottenham Hotspur. Although Daniel Levy is keen to make himself look like the good guy throughout, there are parts of it which have left a lasting impact.
In one scene, Jose Mourinho is having a one-on-one chat with Dele Alli where he advises the midfielder on how quickly your career goes by in football. In another, Mourinho is seen arguing with Danny Rose when the full-back is left out of the squad. Without Mourinho's appointment mid-season, the documentary likely would have flopped, but with him in it, it's must-watch TV.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
All or Nothing: Arsenal
Another good football edition of All or Nothing is the one where Amazon's cameras followed Arsenal during the 2021/22 when Mikel Arteta's young squad was first starting to show signs of the team they have become. Arteta's side were pushing for a top-four finish during the season and the documentary gives us an insight into the stresses that come with managing an elite football club.
There are plenty of bizarre Arteta team talks included throughout the documentary while we also get to learn more about certain players, such as Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka, on a personal level. We also get to see how and why Arteta decided to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2022 and the fallout that came with it.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
Diego Maradona
There aren't any bigger characters in football history than Diego Maradona so a documentary all about the Argentinian wizard was always going to be a good one. The documentary makers had access to hundreds of hours of unseen footage of Maradona and they compiled together to make one of the most absorbing sporting documentaries ever created.
One of the best football documentaries you'll watch, this gives a good account of Mardona's genius on the pitch but also doesn't shy away from his complicated lifestyle away from the pitch. In terms of football content, the documentary centres on Maradona's legendary time at Napoli in the 1980s.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
Matildas: The World At Our Feet
The pressures of playing in a home World Cup are there for all to see in Matildas: The World At Our Feet. This documentary tells the story of the Australian women's national team as they prepare for the 2023 Women's World Cup on home soil, with the press on their backs after a disappointing showing at the Asia Cup.
Chelsea forward Sam Kerr is regarded as one of the best women's players in the world and she plays a starring role in the documentary as she embarks on a race against time to get fit for the tournament.
Where to watch: Disney+