Netflix’s VP of original films Tendo Nagenda announced today that the streaming giant will make a film adaptation of Jere Longman’s book, “The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed The World.” The film will chronicle the 1999 U.S. women’s soccer team on their journey as they went on to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Netflix won rights to the book against stiff competition.
“As a longtime soccer fan, I can still remember watching that groundbreaking game in Union Square …” Nagenda professed on Neflix’s blog. “Watching the USA team that summer made me forget I had no money and little more than a dream to feed me. That team, that goal, and Brandi Chastain’s unforgettable reaction – in which she ripped off her shirt and dropped to her knees in astonishment – made me believe I could do anything, and do it my way.”
The film will follow the team’s journey throughout the ’90s and their unforgettable victory over China “on a sweltering hot summer day, in a stadium bursting with 93,000 fans,” Deadline noted. That win ultimately changed the way women’s sports were viewed and “enhanced funding and recognition for women’s soccer and led to the establishment of the North American women’s soccer league,” Deadline added.
Liza Chasin, who has a multi-year first-look deal with Netflix, will produce the project via 3dot productions, in conjunction with Ándale Productions; Hayley Stool, who optioned the book and secured life rights, and 56-time Sports Emmy Award winner Ross Greenburg of Ross Greenburg Productions are also on board.
Photo credit: FIFA TV's YouTube Channel