Nike and Gurls Talk doc shows how football is a “force of empowerment” for young women

Nike and online community Gurls Talk have released a documentary perfectly timed for the end of the Women’s World Cup, exploring football as a powerful catalyst for change in young girls’ lives. Directed by Felix Cooper and narrated by Adwoa Aboah, the insightful film marks a continued collaboration between the brand and the support network for women, which also launched the Made to Play Fund with Women Win.

This new film, produced by Somesuch, explores the sport as a “force for empowerment”, interviewing striker Nadia Nadim as well as girls in South Africa, Paris, Ghana, Berlin, Turkey and Moscow about their relationship with football. One segment focuses on Right to Dream, West Africa’s first girls’ football academy, and one particular player called Precious, who started her own football tournament in Accra, despite pressure from her family to conform to traditional female stereotypes in Ghana. Aboah comments in the film: “For these girls, football isn’t just a sport, it’s about triumph and determination, about the bonds of sisterhood and community, about turning pain into joy, ignoring your detractors. It’s the courage to be different.”

Aboah also comments, of the whole project: “On this journey, we saw girls from around the world who have fought through oppression and continue to be resilient through their love for football. The documentary truly celebrates them and the grassroots communities they are a part of.”

Watch the full film in its joyous glory, below.

We also commemorated the Women’s World Cup in our own way on It’s Nice That, with a minute-by-minute illustrated guide to each stage of the competition.