When you sit down to watch a football movie, you’re preparing yourself to feel grit, drama, and the glory that goes on within the game. For most of these movies, you don’t need to be an avid football fan to enjoy them and many of these movies are classics in their own right. 

They have plots that take you through a cinematic experience and the emotions of the characters involved. You get to see the trials and tribulations of the game that is loved so deeply by so many. 

What makes the best football movie? The intensity of a game of football is a great source of excitement for drama in film. You get feel-good inspirational underdog stories, the intenseness of the competition combined with the edge-of-your-seat action and storytelling for a thrilling movie experience. 

They can be either comedies or heart-breaking real-life stories. There is plenty of variety when it comes to football films but all the ones we’ve looked at here have something in common, they are great films. 

Let’s get going with the 10 best football movies of all time!

1. Any Given Sunday (1999)

Any Given Sunday features a professional football legend and quarterback Cap Rooney (Dennis Quaid) who is knocked out of the game and replaced by a player called Willie Beaman (Jamie Foxx), a young, unknown third-string teammate.

Beaman takes the opportunity of what may be his last chance and shines on the field with his athleticism. His team, the Miami Sharks, used to be the best team in the game but now they are struggling with the loss of teammates, attendance sinking, and football players aging out. 

There’s a lot of tension with the young president and co-owner of the team, meanwhile, the head coach (a brilliant Al Pacino), struggles with a failing marriage and estranged children as he tries to get his team back to winning ways.