Follow Up on “The Soccer Project”

Late in March I ran a story on “The Soccer Project“, a documentary in progress called “Footplay”. If you’ve not seen the trailer, please go to that story and watch the video I have embedded there. You won’t be disappointed as Footjoy is not about professional, youth, or college soccer. It’s about the pure joy of futbol through pick-up games played around the world.

Inside Minnesota Soccer noticed The Soccer Project on Facebook and subscribed to their page after being impressed by the trailers and website. In the process I made contact with Luke Boughen, one of the two who were featured in the film. I requested a preview of the film that I could embed into my website. Luke said he hadn’t gotten that request before but would check into it. A few weeks passed but eventually Luke did get back to me with an embedded file to share. It was just in time because the deadline was fast approaching for a contest that they were involved in called the Melrose Mac Creativity Pays contest. If The Soccer Project won the contest with the film Footjoy, they could afford to make their last trip to Iran to finish the film and then use the equipment they won for post production.

I made my post and within no time The Soccer Project hit many soccer blogs across the US, the biggest being Soccer by Ives.

Yesterday I received a notice from The Soccer Project. The message brought great news. Footplay won the Melrose Mac competition! The notice went on to say,

“Thanks to all of your votes, we now have two brand new editing systems and accompanying software to get the editing off the ground. We can’t thank you guys enough for continuing to be so supportive as we try to get this documentary to the finish line.”

“We returned last week from our final shoot in Iran with more great footage and stories, so we will be in the trenches all summer long to edit and finish the movie by September. We are always looking for music that can be used in our film, so if you have any connections to indie bands or musicians that might be interested feel free to send us a sample!”

“Again, thanks for all of the support and check this page periodically for any updates on the film’s progress.”

In my conversation with Luke that took place this week, he thanked Inside Minnesota Soccer for getting the ball rolling and bringing the film to the attention of the soccer community in the US.

I’m personally very excited about this film and can’t wait until its completion. I’m also very proud of the influence Inside Minnesota Soccer and its readers had in helping The Soccer Project to be on its way to the finish line.