Final

From the battlefields of Europe to African liberation and the fight for freedom in Asia, Australia and the Americas, this is the epic history of youngsters who faced states of terror, outplayed hegemony on six continents with nothing but balls and won a fellowship of billions.

FINAL traces the rise of football and its young stars in 'the century of fear,' as one former goalie and member of the French Resistance labeled the 20th century. Meet the teenagers on the frontlines of WWII - from Kiev and Moscow in the east to Normandy and Paris in the west - who emerged out of the trenches to one day ascend in the great arenas. On the streets and beaches, kids dribbled until the stormtroopers appeared.

Follow players on the run and the young rebels who fought back. From Rio to Lagos, young pioneers challenged the old world and found avenues to a new one by shaking off bigotry and bondage. From player to president, the game has had a deep connection to the struggle for freedom.

On a tiny island, young revolutionaries formed the world's most honourable league. Before Nelson Mandela could leave his cell at last, Europe's footballer of the year honoured him by defying Western propaganda, then captained his coloniser country to its biggest title just as a small heroic army won the decisive battle to decolonise the last strongholds of white power in Africa.

Santos had just won the Intercontinental Cup when intercontinental ballistic missiles were one step short of their launch. An African player-turned-freedom fighter shuffled between Washington and Havana during the dramatic hours of the nuclear standoff. And following JFK's assassination, the unsung hero of the US national team was murdered. Democracy was next.

‘Football is freedom.’ Bob Marley