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Fox Sports has set a broadcast premiere date for its American soccer history documentary “Summer of ’94,” which chronicles the rise of the U.S. men’s national team ahead of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Produced by Imagine Documentaries, Delirio Films, Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios and Copper Pot Pictures, the feature will premiere May 23 on Fox. The film will first debut at the SXSW Film Festival on March 14 as part of the event’s documentary spotlight program.
“Summer of ’94,” which is directed by Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker, explores the unlikely journey of the 1994 U.S. squad, which entered the World Cup as heavy underdogs with no professional domestic league and minimal expectations on the global stage. Instead, the team’s performance helped ignite widespread American interest in the sport and laid the foundation for the eventual launch of Major League Soccer two years later.
The documentary includes new interviews and never-before-seen archival footage captured by players themselves on personal camcorders. Featured voices include Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, Tony Meola, John Harkes, Marcelo Balboa and Eric Wynalda, along with teammates Jeff Agoos, Thomas Dooley and Paul Caligiuri. The team was led by head coach Bora Milutinović.
“When we started this film, we were simply fans who felt this team never got its due,” LaMattina and Walker said in a joint statement. “They didn’t lift a trophy, but they changed the sport in America. What struck us most was how much they were figuring out in real time, with no league, no blueprint and no guarantees.”
The release arrives as Fox Sports holds the English-language rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to kick off June 11 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“’Summer of ’94 brilliantly captures the dramatic turning point of soccer’s popularity in America and the inspiring 1994 U.S. men’s team,” said Fox Sports VP, development and original programming Barry Nugent in a statement. “The 1994 World Cup changed the trajectory of the sport forever and this film tells the unfiltered story about a group of players who came together under impossible circumstances and helped put U.S. soccer on the global stage.”
“Summer of ’94” is executive produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein, Amanda Farrand, Meredith Kaulfers, Justin Wilkes, Josh Greenbaum, Kaitlin March, Nick Dunn, Ewan Watt, Rebecca Covington, Mark Rooks, Frank Igrec, Richard Motzkin of Wasserman, and Carie Goldberg Trutanich of Gold Standard Sports & Entertainment, along with Eric Shanks, Brad Zager and Nugent of Fox Sports.
The film is produced by Imagine Documentaries in partnership with Stand Together and Dicks Sporting Goods’ Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios.
Here’s a first look at the film poster:
English (US) ·