Next Goal Wins: Director Taika Waititi on his new football film, how to choreograph a match & why the sport takes itself too seriously

The Oscar-winning filmmaker spoke to The Footballco Business Podcast to discuss how he created his brilliant new football film, Next Goal Wins.

Taika Waititi has lifted the lid on the challenges of making a film about football after telling the incredible true story of Thomas Rongen and American Samoa in his new movie Next Goal Wins.

The actor and director, who won an Oscar for 2020 hit Jojo Rabbit, shines a light on Rongen's time in charge of the team, who were the worst national side in the world when he was appointed in 2011.

Michael Fassbender plays the Dutch-born coach in the film, which was released in the U.S. last week and will be in UK cinemas on December 29.

Waititi spoke to The Footballco Business Podcast about Next Goal Wins, making the football scenes «dynamic», his thoughts on the Beautiful Game away from Hollywood and more.

«I've always tried to add humour to anything,» Watiti says. «I think if you've got like a deeper theme beneath everything, and this again is, the film really is about loss and grief and picking yourself back up and trying to look for happiness in your life. And all of my films really are about that. And this is no different.

»I think that as a Pacific Islander, being able to tell a Pacific Island story, (I have) a little bit more leeway and a bit more permission really to poke fun at ourselves. I think if it was someone, you know, if it was a Western filmmaker coming in and laughing at the worst team in the world and saying, 'look at these losers', it would feel a bit different and it might feel a little more offensive. And I think that because, you know, I'm from New Zealand and it's Samoa and we share a lot culturally and we're very similar people.

«We just decided to basically pull everyone