8 OF THE BEST SPORTS FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES ON NETFLIX UK

Sport isn’t everything; that much is true. But for millions around the world, it’s as important an act of escapism as listening to music or burying our noses in a book. And if there’s something we need right now, it’s a few hours to escape.

The sporting calendar has ground to a halt in many countries and there is no telling when it might resume; but if, like us, you’re suffering withdrawal symptoms, then look no further. This list of eight sports films and documentaries on Netflix UK, features glory and misery, tragedy and celebration, drama and comic relief. Most of all, though, they each highlight what sport means to us around the globe.

MARADONA IN MEXICO

Drama is never far from Diego Maradona’s door, but this documentary series, following the Argentinian during his year coaching Dorados de Sinaloa in Mexico, might not go the way you expect.

He was brought in to save the club in Culiacan, home to Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s Sinaloa cartel, and the relationship turns out to be entirely mutual. “It was too crazy to be true,” says director Angus Macqueen. “Maradona, a coke addict, going to the world capital of cocaine.” A reminder, if one is needed, of the unpredictable life of this footballing great.

LAST CHANCE U

Another of Netflix’s own productions, Last Chance U is the story of young athletes taking a shot at redemption after falling out of top division college football. The first two seasons focus on East Mississippi Community College, before things move on to Independence Community College of Kansas.

While we’re rooting for those athletes attempting to realise their dreams, just as crucial to the story is the teachers and coaches who have given their lives to help provide this last chance.

DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS

Directed by Stacy Peralta, a member of the Zephyr skateboard team upon whom the film is focused, Dogtown and Z-boys takes us back to 1970s California where the worlds of surfing and skateboarding collide.

The film is narrated by Sean Penn, and combines footage of the Z-boys almost half a century ago with contemporary interviews discussing the group’s lasting influence on the sport. A soundtrack featuring Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Devo and Fila Brazillia only further enforces the film’s predictable cool.

Q BALL

Among the wealth of basketball-related content on Netflix, Q Ball stands somewhat alone as it follows the lives of the San Quentin Warriors, a team of inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California.

A project kick-started by visits to the prison from Kevin Durant and his Golden State Warriors team, it represents a chance of structure, focus and redemption. The inmates’ moving stories are paralleled only by some stunning cinematography.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

A modern classic, Friday Night Lights is set in Odessa, Texas, a town reeling from the effects of the USA’S early 80s recession. It is a story of sport’s unifying good, where a community congregates once a week under the night lights in support of its American football team, played out against Explosions In The Sky’s sweeping post-rock soundscapes.

TEAM FOXCATCHER

Using previously unseen home video footage alongside contemporary interviews with athletes, Team Foxcatcher charts the story of how the eccentric heir to the Du Pont family fortune funded the US Olympic wrestling team and housed them at a custom-built training facility on his estate. John du Pont’s demise is difficult to watch, but represents a sobering, real-life caricature of sporting obsession.

KILLER INSIDE: THE MIND OF AARON HERNANDEZ

A haunting tale surrounding the conviction of NFL star Aaron Hernandez, jailed for the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2013. The journey from millionaire sports star to convicted killer is dramatic enough, but a series of revelations over the three episodes paints a picture that grows ever more complex. The light and shade of the characters behind the athletes we idolise is rarely so well exposed.

SUNDERLAND ’TIL I DIE

Sunderland ’Til I Die is proof that a disaster is often more entertaining to watch than success. Following the club in their 2017/18 Championship season, Netflix had planned to film the story of a side returning to the Premier League. However, instead of being promoted, Sunderland suffered a humiliating second relegation. And a second series documenting the team’s first season in League One is out now.