The Pitch (2018)

In England, football has become the nation sport, if not a national obsession. The personal stories of three fans reveals just what lengths people will go to support their team and how without them, there really is no game.

The rivalry between England and Scotland is the oldest fixture in international football. These two countries with a tangled political history, have made the football pitch their modern day equivalent of the battleground.

England may well be the birthplace of modern football, but the Beautiful Game has spread its wings and is now played on a global scale. Nonetheless, English teams hold a special place in the hearts of international fans for their proud histories and passionate supporters. Can someone from the other side of the planet ever truly understand the love that football inspires in local fans?

Three decades ago, English football changed fundamentally and indelibly. What had been a resolutely working-class sport was transformed by the formation of the Premier League into one of the most lucrative entertainment products in the world. The quality of the football is better than ever but what does it mean for blue collar fans who created sport?

A world away from the wealth of the Premier Football League, there are hundreds of football clubs run by the fans, for the fans. This is the true grassroots of English football: where former Premiership stars battle it out with bricklayers, and where glory is the biggest prize.

In order to understand football you must understand promotion and relegation. It is the string of hope that ties every fan to their team and permits the unexpected rise of small town Burton Albion and the treacherous downfall of mighty Leeds United.