Why Streamers Are Betting Big on Football Stories
If recent releases are anything to go by, football documentaries are becoming a major part of the streaming playbook. Netflix has expanded its football offering with documentaries on Emiliano Martínez and José Mourinho, alongside new additions to its Untold series covering the stories of Vinnie Jones, Liverpool FC's 2005 season and Jamie Vardy. Elsewhere, HBO's USA Versus The World follows the US Men's National Team's journey across the four-year cycle leading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Disney/ESPN is set to release Bukayo Saka: The Time Is Now. Together, they point to a growing trend: streamers are investing heavily in football storytelling.
The timing is no coincidence. With the FIFA World Cup now Kicking off this week and anticipation already building around football's biggest stage, broadcasters, streamers and production companies are looking beyond live matches to engage audiences. Documentaries offer a way to explore the personalities, rivalries and defining moments that shape the sport, creating content that can resonate long before and long after a major tournament takes place.
At the heart of this growth is the increasing importance of archive footage. Football's rich history, iconic moments and global appeal provide documentary makers with an unrivalled depth of content to draw from. From historic World Cup matches and title-winning campaigns to career-defining moments and behind-the-scenes stories, archive footage helps producers bring authenticity, context and emotion to the narratives they are telling. As audiences increasingly expect to see the moments being discussed rather than simply hear about them, access to high-quality archive has become an essential part of modern sports storytelling.
This growing demand has been reflected in the work of IMG's Archive team, which has supported the majority of recent football documentary productions through archive licensing. One example is Netflix's Untold: Jamie Vardy, where extensive match and non-match archive footage was licensed to help tell the story of Vardy's remarkable rise from non-league football to Premier League champion and England international. By combining contemporary interviews with archive from key moments throughout his career, the documentary is able to place viewers at the centre of the story rather than simply recounting it.
For streamers, football documentaries offer global appeal and built-in audience engagement. For producers, they provide access to some of sport's richest stories and for archive specialists, they highlight the enduring value of the footage that helps bring those stories to life for audiences around the world.