20 best movies like Friday Night Lights (2006)

A small, turbulent town in Texas obsesses over their high school football team to an unhealthy degree. When the star tailback, Boobie Miles, is seriously injured during the first game of the season, all hope is lost, and the town's dormant social problems begin to flare up. It is left to the inspiring abilities of new coach Gary Gaines to instill in the other team members -- and, by proxy, the town itself -- a sense of self-respect and honor.

A former high-school football star loses his shot at a college scholarship due to a devastating gridiron injury, but gets a second chance at living his dream.

A track coach in a small California town transforms a team of athletes into championship contenders.

Sensitive study of a headstrong high school football star who dreams of getting out of his small Western Pennsylvania steel town with a football scholarship. His equally ambitious coach aims at a college position, resulting in a clash which could crush the player's dreams

After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State's Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure regarding the victims.

Two young gay soccer players get caught up between the politics of the game and the politics of love.

The life story of Brazilian football legend, Pele.

A young man finds solace with a young woman, his mother, and a high-school football coach who recruits him to quarterback a six-man team.

High school football coach, Harold Jones befriends Radio, a mentally-challenged man who becomes a student at T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson, South Carolina. Their friendship extends over several decades, where Radio transforms from a shy, tormented man into an inspiration to his community.

Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor.

Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together.

The story of Ray-Ray McElrathbey, a freshman football player for Clemson University, who secretly raised his younger brother on campus after his home life became too unsteady.

A young coach turns a losing high school football program around to go undefeated for 12 consecutive seasons.

Freddie Steinmark, an underdog on the gridiron, faces the toughest challenge of his life after leading his team to a championship season.

In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.

Anthony Keller, star of his NYC high school basketball team, is riding his way to Cornell on a sports scholarship. But he can only maintain his popular jock facade for so long, as his troubled father Lee has a gambling addiction that threatens to derail his dreams both on and off the court.

A losing coach with an underdog football team faces their giants of fear and failure on and off the field to surprising results.

Surfer Jay Moriarity sets out to ride the Northern California break known as Mavericks.

Inspired by the true story of Vince Papale, a man with nothing to lose who ignored the staggering odds and made his dream come true. When the coach of Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time – no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way.

Haunted by the memory of her deceased mother, Dana leaves Malibu behind and heads to South Africa to fulfill her mother's dream of surfing Jefferys Bay.

Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but wanted to play football at Notre Dame instead. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were a little low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of 5 people and has set his sights upon joining the team.

Based on a true story, this film tells the tale of the 1950 US soccer team who, against all odds, beat England 1 - 0 in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Although no US team has yet won a World Cup title, this story is about the family traditions and passions which shaped the lives of the players who made up this team of underdogs.

19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad - contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.

After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline "Line" Found, a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship!

A baseball legend almost finished with his distinguished career at the age of forty has one last chance to prove who he is, what he is capable of, and win the heart of the woman he has loved for the past four years.

In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion, 17-year-old schoolboys carry the hopes of an entire community onto the gridiron every Friday night. When star quarterback Lance Harbor suffers an injury, the Coyotes are forced to regroup under the questionable leadership of John Moxon, a second-string quarterback with a slightly irreverent approach to the game.

When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.

In a depressed Texas town, British foreign exchange teacher Anna attempts to inject some life into her hopeless kids by introducing them to soccer. They're terrible at first, but Anna and her football-hero assistant whip them into shape. As they work overtime, the pair help kids build their self-esteem and also get involved in solving family squabbles.

While fulfilling her community service hours at a horse rescue ranch, Emma forms an unlikely bond with an abused show horse who won't let anyone ride him.

Talent can only get you so far. For golfer Luke Chisholm, that turns out to be Utopia, Texas -- where he's left stranded after blowing his pro debut.

The story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball team on a budget, by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

A socially inept fourteen year old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends -- Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love -- fall for each other.

Reeling from his mother’s death and his father’s abandonment, Zach, an All-State athlete, finds glory on the football field, working to earn a college scholarship and the brothers’ ticket out of town. When a devastating injury puts Zach—and his dreams—on the sidelines, David laces up his track cleats to salvage their future and point Zach toward hope.

A story that revolves around three sisters who live in their grandmother's home and the arrival of their 13-year-old half sister.

After being expelled for a flagrant foul during a match in Primera C (the fourth division in Argentinian football), Patón Bonasiolle, the captain and midfielder from Talleres de Escalada, realizes his career as a footballer has come to an end. At the age of 35, this means the end of a world he has known since he was a child. Together with Ale - his wife - he looks for a fresh new start.

Stet, a troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a Boy Choir school back East after the death of his single mom. Completely out of his element, he finds himself in a battle of wills with a demanding Choir Master who recognizes a unique talent in this young boy as he pushes him to discover his creative heart and soul in music.

A head cheerleader's life takes an unexpected twist when her rifle-like throwing arm takes her from the sidelines to becoming her middle school’s starting quarterback. Bella Dawson is a confident, caring and talented teenager, who suddenly finds herself fulfilling a lifelong dream but also having to navigate the world of her teammates Troy, Sawyer and Newt, without losing her two best friends, Pepper and Sophie from the cheer squad.

An All-American football player's dreams to play in the NFL are halted when he is falsely accused of rape and sent to prison.

At the NFL Draft, general manager Sonny Weaver has the opportunity to rebuild his team when he trades for the number one pick. He must decide what he's willing to sacrifice on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with NFL dreams.

Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood decides that wrestling boys is the only way back to her estranged father.

A light hearted comedy about the beginnings of Professional American Football. When a decorated war hero and college all star is tempted into playing professional football. Everyone see the chance to make some big money, but when a reporter digs up some dirt on the war hero... everyone could lose out.

A new team of eSports players try to make it to the top in the cutthroat world of competitive gaming.

A teenager overcomes odds to run a 4-minute mile race.

A family dog—with a near-human soul and a philosopher's mind—evaluates his life through the lessons learned by his human owner, a race-car driver.

Contemporary Russia. After he flubs a penalty kick, a humiliated national soccer player quits the game. He flees to a small town, where he decides to coach their local team.

When college friends reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.

Seventeen-year-old Anne just fell in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her L.A. public high school. But when Anne tells her best friend, Clifton—who has always harbored a secret crush on her—he does his best to get in the way.

Jerry Maguire used to be a typical sports agent: willing to do just about anything he could to get the biggest possible contracts for his clients, plus a nice commission for himself. Then, one day, he suddenly has second thoughts about what he's really doing. When he voices these doubts, he ends up losing his job and all of his clients, save Rod Tidwell, an egomaniacal football player.

Oversized African-American, Michael Oher, the teen from across the tracks and a broken home, has nowhere to sleep at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL.

A skilled young hockey prospect hoping to attract the attention of professional scouts is pressured to show that he can fight if challenged during his stay in a Canadian minor hockey town. His on-ice activities are complicated by his relationship with the coach's daughter.