Goodbye to offside: women’s football and the barriers it faces in the documentary A Real Dream (HBO: 2020–2022)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17561/jump.10162Keywords:
gender studies, documentary series, feminism, female footballers, social inequality, sport, women's footballAbstract
Over the past decade, there has been a significant global boom in sports documentary content, a trend driven by the wide range of content available on major video-on-demand services. Platforms such as MAX (formerly HBO), Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple+, Disney+, Hulu, Movistar+ and Atresplayer Premium have made room in their catalogues to include and promote the success stories of Michael Jordan, Sergio Ramos and David Beckham, amongst other male athletes. This format, in line with the growing prominence of women in sport, has given rise to a trend that reinforces the presence of audiovisual productions centred on female athletes, highlighting the obstacles they face in developing their careers. Thus, in 2022 Amazon Prime premiered Alexia: Labor Omnia Vincit and in 2024, TV3 launched Aitana Bonmatí Conca, both winners of two and three Ballon d’Or awards, respectively. Prior to these two productions, MAX released the two-season documentary series titled Un sueño Real (HBO: 2020–2022), directed by Ana Pastor and produced by her own production company, Newtral. This documentary series does not focus on a single athlete, but rather chronicles the journey of the women’s football team Club Deportivo Tacón as they rose to the Spanish First Division and were subsequently integrated into Real Madrid. From a cultural studies perspective with a gender focus, this article examines how the series addresses issues such as equality and the recognition of women in football, as well as the structural barriers and prejudices that continue to shape women’s participation in a sport that is traditionally male-dominated and masculinizing.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nerea Cuenca-Orellanaq, Sonia Dueñas Mohedas, Natalia Martínez-Pérez
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