Bend It Like Beckham was a classic soccer movie – with one very worrying relationship

The celebrated film largely still holds up and inspires, But, with a sequel in the works, its handling of a player/coach dynamic shows how times have changed

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n the proposed upcoming sequel to the “feel good”, “uplifting” film Bend It Like Beckham (one of the Guardian’s best movies about football), a leading character has been banned from the game for life. At least that’s what could, and probably should be revealed, preferably as early as possible.

Seem dramatic? It isn’t. Though Bend It Like Beckham brilliantly tackles issues around racism, gender norms, homophobia, culture, immigration, and feminism with an endearing comedic twist, a core point of the plot rests on an adult coach pursuing a romantic relationship with a teenage player. In 2025, after multiple high-profile instances of inappropriate player/coach relationships have been reported in women’s soccer, and after the harm inherent in those relationships has been exposed, the normalization of one in a celebrated film is hard to ignore.

For those who came in late, Bend It Like Beckham tells the story of Jess (Parminder Nagra) and Jules (Keira Knightley), two London high schoolers who love soccer. Jules has talent, plays for a seemingly high-level local team (Hounslow Harriers), and dreams of playing college soccer in the United States.