With the FIFA Men’s World Cup returning to the United States this summer for the first time since 1994, Fox Sports will commemorate the iconic ’94 U.S. Men’s National Team in an upcoming documentary.
The film, titled Summer of ’94, will premiere May 23 on Fox, just a few weeks prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicking off on North American soil. The documentary debuted to a select audience at the SXSW Film Festival on Saturday.
According to the announcement by Fox Sports, the project will feature many key players from the ’94 team that catapulted soccer into the mainstream in the United States. Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, Tony Meola, John Harkes, Marcelo Balboa, and Eric Wynalda are among the “featured voices” in Summer of ’94, per Variety. The film will include new interviews and never-before-seen archival footage recorded by the players themselves on personal camcorders.
“Summer of ’94 brilliantly captures the dramatic turning point of soccer’s popularity in America and the inspiring 1994 U.S. men’s team,” Fox Sports VP of development and original programming Barry Nugent told Variety in a statement. “The 1994 World Cup changed the trajectory of the sport forever and this film tells the unfiltered story about a group of players who came together under impossible circumstances and helped put U.S. soccer on the global stage.”
The documentary is being produced by Imagine Documentaries, Delirio Films, Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios, and Copper Pot Pictures.
Fox is the exclusive U.S. English-language broadcaster for this summer’s World Cup. It’s the final tournament under the network’s current media rights agreement with FIFA.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.