The Remarkable Real-Life Soccer Tournament Behind Bill Nighy's New Netflix MovieThe Beautiful Game

Mar. 15, 2025

Bill Nighy (center) in Netflix’sThe Beautiful Game.Photo:Alfredo Falvo/Netflix

Alfredo Falvo/Netflix

Bill NighyandColin Farrellare bringing a heartwarming sports story based on a real-life soccer tournament toNetflix.

Nighy, 74, stars alongside Micheal Ward (Empire of Light) in the streamer’s new movieThe Beautiful Game, which follows athletes and teams competing at theHomeless World Cup, an international street soccer tournament that brings together unhoused athletes from around the world.

In the film, Nighy plays a British soccer coach named Mal, who works with a group of homeless athletes training to participate in the Homeless World Cup in Rome. Mal recruits skilled striker Vinny (Ward, 26), who struggles to provide for himself and his young daughter, to join England’s team just before they travel to the tournament, leaving Vinny to confront his childhood dreams of playing professional soccer.

Farrell, 47, was once attached to star in the film, asDeadlinereported in 2021; he served as a producer on the movie instead. In quotes from the film’s set, Farrell said that he first grew acquainted with the Homeless World Cup when he narrated the 2008 documentaryKicking It, which follows those who participated in the2006 tournamentin Cape Town, South Africa.

“The perceived story of our brothers and sisters living in the streets is still one of the downtrodden, but the Homeless World Cup flips that narrative on it head,” Farrell said. “Through a sense of ever increasing belief in themselves and each other, our players again find a sense of belonging and inclusion and meaning in a world that too often and too quickly has turned it’s back on them.”

Micheal Ward (L) and Bill Nighy (R) in Netflix’sThe Beautiful Game.Alfredo Falvo/Netflix

“The performances had to be truthful and natural to carry the responsibility that comes with representing such tender real life stories,” Sharrock adds.

Past real-life competitions at the Homeless World Cup have included athletes likeLisa Wrightsman, a former Division 1 NCAA soccer player who played at the 2010 Homeless World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. Wrightman, who now works withStreet Soccer USAin Sacramento, California, says “there is so much love and respect for everyone” regardless of their life circumstances at the tournament.

“You feel like you are leaving with a new family that loves, cares and respects you,” Wrightsman tells PEOPLE of her experience competing at the Homeless World Cup. “There was something about waking up each morning and seeing all the players and teams first thing in the morning, knowing we would play soccer all day and end the day with everyone. [I] never felt alone once.”

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Mel Young, the co-founder and president of the Homeless World Cup, tells PEOPLE in a statement thatThe Beautiful Game"is about succeeding against the odds."

“You just need a ball to play the beautiful game,” he says.

Bill Nighy in Netflix’sThe Beautiful Game.Alfredo Falvo/Netflix

The Homeless World Cup has been held annually since 2003, save for years postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022. The tournament will next take place in Seoul, South Korea, between Sept. 21 - 28, with teams from 64 countries total invited to participate and separate competition pools for men’s and women’s teams, per the organization’swebsite.

The Beautiful Gameis streaming on Netflix now.

source: people.com