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Netflix continues to score big. At a time where sports-based documentaries are thriving thanks to The Last Dance, Netflix has landed the movie rights to the story of the iconic 1999 United States Women’s Soccer Team that went on to win the gold medal in the World Cup.
The film will be based off of Jere Longman’s book The Girls of Summer: The US Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed The World.
The USWNT’s memorable run was capped off with a penalty shootout that ended with the legendary scene of Brandi Chastain ripping off her shirt to lift the United States over Japan in the championship match.
“As a longtime soccer fan, I can still remember watching that groundbreaking game in Union Square,” said Tendo Nagenda, Vice President, Netflix Films, according to Variety. “When I moved to Uganda in my teens, playing soccer was an important way to meet kids my own age (even if our balls were made up of dried banana leaves). That was also true when I left my first job in Los Angeles to take summer film classes in New York City in 1999. In between stealing shots and locations, my collaborators and I would stand outside bars to see the Women’s World Cup series. Watching the USA team that summer made me forget I had no money and little more than a dream to feed me.
“That team, that goal, and Brandi Chastain’s unforgettable reaction – in which she ripped off her shirt and dropped to her knees in astonishment – made me believe I could do anything, and do it my way.”
A timetable for production has not been announced at this time.
Since bursting onto the national scene with stars like Chastain and Mia Hamm, the USWNT has had continued success with a new group of stars like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, and more.
Most recently, the United States topped Netherlands for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup title in France.
