Always on
This project successfully funded on 22nd June 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
This project successfully funded on 22nd June 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Fund a documentary following England Veterans' Over-75 football team as they face their rivals Germany on the 1966 World Cup anniversary.
Filmmaker Tracy Willits, director of the acclaimed Pip Pop and a Pandemic, follows the fortunes of the England Veterans' Over-75 football team as they prepare to face arch rivals Germany.
Working with BBC camera operator Paul Kerigan, editor Matt Dennis of Addicted to Sheep, producer Jonathan Brown and students from York St John University, Tracy explores how a group of Englishmen compete at the very highest level of the ultra-veterans' game.
Watch full trailer here.
This uplifting and high quality 4K documentary charts the tricky road to a rematch to mark the anniversary of the 1966 World Cup Final. Manager Ken Pollock's key players recover from conditions such as stroke, cardiac surgery and cancers - vying for the chance to represent their country - cheered on by the WOOFS (Wives Of Old Footballers).
Facing challenges both on and off the pitch, Ken, 77, must field a team fit enough to take on the Germans whilst securing a ground and backing for the venture expected to be played out in front of a crowd of 5000 supporters.
Unified by a love of football, a passion for life and a rejection of the constraints of ageing, the players provide an exhilarating antidote to stereotypes of what it means to be old and to prove that football dreams never truly retire.
The documentary is a collaborative production between aspiring filmmakers and industry professionals exploring an issue of pressing urgency to society. Men in England currently die an average of four years earlier than women - living a fifth of their life in poor health. Silver Lions will be promoted for festival release and embark on a tour of community venues promoting the virtues of remaining active in later life with the England Veterans' team providing compelling role models.
Tracy Willits has already secured substantial impact with her previous documentary Pip Pop and a Pandemic which dealt with the issue of schizophrenia during Covid and the health inequalities that exist for people with severe mental illness. It has been shown at the House of Commons, the Canberra International Film Festival, Royal College of Psychiatrists Annual Conference in Belfast as well as winning an Impact DOCS award for film on social justice and a special mention at the Covent Garden Film Festival.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made