Sky Documentaries today announces a Sky Original feature length documentary that will explore one of the most memorable sagas in recent footballing history, the rise and rapid fall of the European Super League (ESL). Produced by award-winning production company, Fulwell 73 (Sunderland Til I Die, The Class of 92, I Am Bolt), in association with Sky Studios, the 1x90 minute film will air on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW later this year.The documentary will chart the dramatic events of the days surrounding the announcement of the ESL in April 2021, which proposed a new annual international competition between the biggest clubs in the game, including 12 founding members from the English Premier League, Italy's Serie A and Spain's La Liga. In the 72-hour period between its announcement and subsequent collapse, the ESL dominated the headlines and prompted reactions around the world from national governments, football's governing bodies, other clubs, players, managers, pundits and fans.
The film will tell the story of the ESL with an exclusive inside look at the events and decisions that led to the landmark announcement and spanning not just those turbulent few days following the statement but also recent footballing history to give context to its inception. Supported by archive footage, the film will feature first-hand interviews with figures from the 12 founding clubs, global footballing leagues and federations, players and fans themselves.
The Sky Original documentary has been commissioned for Sky Documentaries by Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content for Sky UK and Ireland, Poppy Dixon, Director of Documentaries and Factual and Jamie Morris, Director of Programmes. The documentary is directed by Carl Hindmarch. From Fulwell 73, Leo Pearlman, Gabe Turner, Ben Turner and Richard Thompson will all serve as Executive Producers on the project with Richard Cooke as Producer. Poppy Dixon will also serve as executive producer for Sky UK. NBCUniversal Global Distribution will handle international sales of the film on behalf of Sky Studios.
Poppy Dixon, Director of Documentaries and Factual Commissioning at Sky, said: The announcement and disbanding of the European Super League became one of the most volatile 72 hours in football history. Football fans and non-fans alike debated, protested and trended this game-changing decision around the world before watching its rapid collapse. When Fulwell pitched us the film as a high stakes thriller with exclusive access from inside the story, we knew this would be a brilliant fit for Sky Documentaries .
Richard Thompson, Head of Music & Sport - Features and Series at Fulwell 73, said: The story of the European Super League gripped the world and you didn't have to be a football fan to understand its significance and what it meant to the sport, clubs and fans across the globe. We're excited to hear first-hand from those involved to learn about the stories behind the headlines and bring this truly fascinating tale to life.
Sky Documentaries is the home of world-class, real life stories from award-winning and emerging film makers, including new Sky Original documentaries, as well as acquisitions from HBO, SHOWTIME and beyond. With a mix of feature length documentaries and limited series that challenge, provoke and entertain, the channel explores a broad range of topics from sport and real-world controversies through to biographies of some of the world's most famous and infamous people.
Fulwell 73 has been behind some of the most critically and commercially successful sports TV series and films of recent years. Its Euro 2020 companion show Crouchy's Year Late Euros is airing now on BBC One and it is currently in production on the latest instalment of Amazon's All or Nothing series following Juventus. Other recent shows include Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer and Jack Whitehall's Sporting Nation (both for BBC One) and Netflix hit Sunderland Til I Die. Its sports features credits include The Class of '92 and I Am Bolt for Universal Pictures and In the Hands of the Gods for Lionsgate.
For further information, please contact: hephzibah.kwakyesaka@sky.uk / jessica.gray@sky.uk
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