A soccer film triple-header and continuing the fight for social and racial justice

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It's a good week to be a soccer fan. The game continues to return, with MLS announcing its return, La Liga kicking off again, and the Premier League and Serie A coming back over the next few weeks.

It's also a good week for soccer films. First up, our featured film for #SoccerFilmFriday is Coach, the inspiring story of a woman's quest to overcome illogical roadblocks and sexism in the coaching ranks. Next is Foosballers, the greatest movie ever made about the table soccer, which is airing on ESPN tonight! And last is The Rhino Cup, which documents efforts to stop rhino poaching through the beautiful game.

And a reminder about K+S's ongoing efforts to support the fight against racism: Proceeds from all films streamed on the K+S film portal through the end of June will be donated to Campaign Zero, a non-profit dedicated to ending police violence. In addition, following up on last week's pledge to continue to fight against racism and for social justice, we are donating an additional $500 to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. It's not much, but we hope it helps.

Coach: A woman’s quest for more

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The short documentary Coach, which screened at K+S New York 2019, is the story of Tracy Hamm and her quest to earn the internationally renowned UEFA "A" coaching license.

Tracy, who currently coaches at UC Davis, first tried to pursue a top license from the U.S. Soccer federation but was obstructed by requirements that candidates seeking waivers to bypass lower certification levels must have played three years of professional soccer. Problem was, when she graduated from college in 2006, no professional women’s league existed in the United States.

Undeterred, she went to Europe and, despite the ingrained sexism in the game over there, she persisted. Her success is as inspiring as it is overdue.

Coach is available to watch for free throughout the month of June.

Foosballers: Now on ESPN

Big news for some good friends of K+S. Foosballers, Joe Heslinga's brilliant doc that won the Golden Whistle Award at K+S New York 2019, will air on ESPN tonight at 7PM ET.

Foosballers is a rollicking ride through the past, the present, and the future of everyone's favorite bar game. This is a can't miss film. More info...

The Rhino Cup: Can soccer save an endangered species?

"Why can't the greatest game save the greatest animal?"

We all know that soccer's impact goes well beyond the four lines and the stadiums and the TV. It goes into our hearts and into our communities.

The Rhino Cup is the story of a football league near Kruger National Park created with the sole purpose of reducing poaching of rhinos.

The Rhino Cup is available to stream for free right now.

Last week, we encouraged you all to check out and support several organizations focused on Black soccer culture or serving the Black community through the game we all love. This week, we're highlighting a selection of Black voices in the North American soccer scene to follow to keep listening and learning:

Putting action to words: The K+S community and the fight for social justice

Over the past week or so, as we’ve contemplated what to write in our weekly #SoccerFilmFriday note to the K+S community, we’ve started typing something out, deleted it, started again, deleted it again. A hundred times. A thousand times.

Finally, we gave up. Truth is, there are many more people who have expressed what we are feeling much more powerfully, personally, and eloquently than we ever could. People like Barack Obama, Lee Pelton, Jeremy Ebobisse, and Drake Hills.

We here at K+S, like everyone we know in the soccer-culture community we are a part of, unequivocally denounce the systemic racism that led to the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others. We denounce a justice system that is too often one-sided and turns a blind eye to the violence perpetrated against Black bodies for far too long. And we denounce the lack of leadership, from the White House to governors’ mansions, to city halls, that has upheld and reinforced this system for years upon years.

But denouncing something with words is just sound and fury if there is no action to back it up. We applaud those who are finally taking the time to listen and learn. We are doing it ourselves. We applaud those who are marching and speaking out and donating their time, energy, and money to “make this moment the turning point for real change,” as President Obama wrote. Again, we are doing it ourselves, and we encourage you to do the same.

But what else can we do? That’s the question we are asking ourselves.

First thing we are doing: Through the end of June (to start), we will donate all the proceeds from the streaming of soccer films on the K+S Media Group film portal to Campaign Zero, a non-profit dedicated to ending police violence.

Second: We will promote and showcase as many Black-focused soccer organizations as possible, encouraging our audience to seize this moment to actively listen, learn, and support organizations focused on Black soccer culture or serving the Black community through the game we all love. Some of these groups include:

And we will continue to brainstorm ideas that can put action to words. We would love to hear any ideas that you have or organizations or people we should support and amplify. Email us at info@kickingandscreening.com or tweet at us at @KSFilmFest.

#SOCCERFILMFRIDAY: The Anderson Monarchs

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It is Friday, so we do have a great soccer film we encourage you to watch as part of our ongoing #SoccerFilmFriday series. This week, our featured film is The Anderson Monarchs, which tells the story of a Black girls soccer team in an at-risk urban neighborhood in Philadelphia.

Focused on two girls, Jlon, age 11, and Kahlaa, age 10, The Anderson Monarchs follows the girls' growth as soccer players and people, celebrating the rights of young women and the community they are building for themselves as talented athletes, emerging scholars, and leaders. Their remarkable story brings them to a place they only ever imagined in their dreams.

It’s a powerful story and one that is very appropriate for the times we are living in.


"After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United" tells a much-needed story of unity

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With so much happening that seems to be tearing the world apart, it seems more than appropriate to showcase the powerful documentary After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United for this week's #SoccerFilmFriday.

Produced by Roger Bennett of "Men in Blazers," After the Cup tells the story of Israeli club B'nei Sakhnin, which is based in the Arab town of Sakhnin, and the sense of unity brought on after they win the Israeli Cup.

Led by Arab star Abbas Suan, whose performances lead to a call up to the Israeli national team, the team’s success has an immediate and profound impact on the long-divided region, one that led former Israeli president Shimon Peres to say: "Sakhnin changed the relationship between Jews and Arabs in Israel."

But can the club and its young hero, both suddenly thrust under an international microscope, live up to expectations that go well beyond the field of play?

Watch the film, and then, please, let us know what you think via email, Twitter or Facebook. We might post your take on our channels.

"American Fútbol" is the soccer journey we all could use right now

Seven thousand miles. Eight countries. Four friends. One goal: Find the soul of fútbol.

Sounds nice, right? Yeah. To us, too. Which is why we have selected American Fútbol, directed by Peter Karl and Petar Madjarac, as this week’s #SoccerFilmFriday featured soccer film.

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American Fútbol takes us on a four-month once-in-a-lifetime adventure through Latin America with a group of American friends as they discover the unique power of soccer to unite people and transcend sports. Like food and music, fútbol is their common language, and as they travel down through Central and South America, the crew use it to better understand and connect with their neighboring cultures. From Mexico to Colombia to Brazil, their adventures immerse audiences in the infectious passion and inspiring stories of the beautiful game.

“Soccer was our passport on this journey,” said director/producer Petar Madjarac. “It helped us cross the U.S./Mexico border, bonded us to a team once run by a Colombian drug cartel; introduced us to a blind soccer team in Bogotá, and explained how soccer impacts racism in Ecuador. This was the trip of a lifetime, and it showed us – and hopefully the viewers will see this – the power of soccer to be more than just a game.”

American Fútbol premiered at the Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival in 2018.

Watch the film today on the following platforms:

American Fútbol co-director Peter Karl (center) with FOX Sports personality Rachel Bonnetta (right) at the 2019 Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival in New York.

American Fútbol co-director Peter Karl (center) with FOX Sports personality Rachel Bonnetta (right) at the 2019 Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival in New York.

Watch "Soka Afrika," a powerful doc about player trafficking from Africa to Europe

It looks like live soccer is back with the Bundesliga starting up this weekend. It may look different -- no fans, etc. -- but at least it's live soccer. Woohoo!

Meanwhile, the soccer film world keeps turning. Netflix announced that they are developing a film about the 1999 World Cup-winning U.S. women's national team. This 2018 short doc Keane and Vieira: Best of Enemies hit our radar. And this week's #SoccerFilmFriday is the award-winning documentary Soka Afrika.

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For most young soccer players in Africa, signing with a club in Europe is not just a dream; it's the only dream.

It is a hard dream to realize, with countless pitfalls, from unscrupulous agents to injuries, broken promises to family shame.

Soka Afrika, which won the Golden Whistle Award at the 2011 Kicking + Screening Soccer Film Festival, explores the good, the bad, and the ugly of player trafficking from Africa to Europe, as seen through the journeys of two young players, Kermit Erasmus from South Africa and Ndomo Sabo from Cameroon.