EXCLUSIVE: Trevor Noah’s Day Zero Productions, Jenifer Westphal’s Wavelength, and the Kansas City Chiefs‘ film and TV production arm Foolish Club Studios are partnering up on an untitled documentary film about a team of Kansas City-based teen refugees as they prepare for international soccer tournament the USA Cup.
The synopsis reads: “Set in Kansas City, Missouri’s Northeast neighborhood, Global FC – a hand-picked group of teen soccer players – has just 30 days to come together and prove that they belong on this national stage. The elite competition – the USA Cup – features 15,000 players and 1,100 teams representing 20 U.S. states and 20 countries. With college scouts watching and their futures on the line, the players fight to demonstrate that they’re among the best of the best.”
Akin to a host of hit college football docs, the doc will chart how players face off-field trials including juggling jobs, caring for siblings, food insecurity, cultural barriers, as well as confronting violence and poverty along their path to on-field success.
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The greenlight comes ahead of next year’s World Cup in U.S., Canada and Mexico, where Kansas City will host multiple games.
“The story of Global FC and the players and coaches who pour themselves into the team each and every day is a reminder that people are stronger than their circumstances,” said Foolish Club Studios CEO Mark Donovan. “We are thrilled to be joining Wavelength Productions, as well as Trevor Noah and his team at Day Zero Productions to bring this one-of-a-kind Kansas City soccer story to a global audience.”
“We are always seeking to tell great stories, in whatever form they take,” added Wavelength founder and CEO Jenifer Westphal. “The story of Global FC immediately struck us as the type of deeply human, compelling narrative that people will respond to and engage with. Coming as it does, ahead of perhaps the greatest moment for soccer that we’ve seen in North America, we are so excited to be part of this incredible project.”
Day Zero Productions, a joint venture between Paramount Global and former Daily Show host Noah, is in the works on an adaptation of Noah’s autobiography Born A Crime, with Lupita Nyong’o starring, a reimagining of the Paramount feature President’s Analyst, and an R-rated com-rom based on an original idea from the comedian. On the TV side, the company produced The World According to Football for Showtime along with Religion of Sports, and Last One Laughing with Amazon.
Foolish Club Studios is the entertainment arm of NFL powerhouses the Kansas City Chiefs. Credits include The Kingdom, the Disney+ and ESPN docuseries on the history of the Chiefs. The team has previously collaborated with the Hallmark Channel on Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, and has made viral online content like the holiday Claymation short A Kingdom Christmas Story: Hail Merry.
Film, TV and theater producer Westphal’s credits include 32 Sounds, Netflix’s Rather, Venice winner Thank You Very Much and Daisy Edgar Jones starrer On Swift Horses.