The FIFA Film 'United Passions' with the Worst Box Office Record: A Comeback After 10 Years

1. Prologue—The Resurgence of the "Infamous" 10 Years Later

On June 9, The Guardian published a provocative article titled "The Worst Sports Movie Ever? Ask Sepp Blatter," as part of a 10th-anniversary feature on the unofficial FIFA promotional film "United Passions" (2014, French production). The article quickly spread among Gen Z, who were unaware of the controversy at the time of its release, and the hashtag "#UnitedPassions" became the top trend on X. Why has society started talking about this "black history movie" again now?theguardian.com

2. The Production Background of "United Passions"

2-1. FIFA's $30 Million Self-Praise

This film was a major project funded by FIFA with about $26 million (later revealed to be $30 million including advertising costs). French director Frédéric Auburtin took the helm, with Gérard Depardieu as Jules Rimet, Sam Neill as João Havelange, and Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter, forming a star-studded cast. However, the script distorted FIFA's history and portrayed Blatter as a "hero of integrity," leading specialized media to harshly criticize it as "unprecedented self-propaganda" even before its completion.vice.com

2-2. The Worst Timing—Released Amidst Corruption Scandals

In May 2015, 14 FIFA executives were arrested by the U.S. Department of Justice on corruption charges, igniting global criticism of FIFA. Just days later, the film was released in North America, showing in only 10 theaters and earning a weekend box office of $918, marking a historic failure in cinema and ending its North American distribution in just one week.theguardian.com

3. The Decisive Blow as the "Worst Movie"—Critics and Audience Reactions

The film received a 0% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 1/100 on Metacritic, and a user score of 2.1 on IMDb. Critic Jordan Hoffman declared it "a piece of crap as cinema, but valuable as a case study in corporate madness." Japanese movie fans also reacted harshly, saying, "It would be better written by AI" and "I'm embarrassed I ever trusted FIFA," making it a topic of conversation as a "joke movie."metacritic.comen.wikipedia.org

4. Social Media 10 Years Later—The Mechanism of the Resurgence

4-1. The Rise of the Hashtag

In the Japanese-speaking sphere of X (formerly Twitter), "#UnitedPassions" surged from the morning of the 10th anniversary of its release. Yahoo! Real-time Search counted about 3,200 related posts within 24 hours.commons.wikimedia.org

4-2. Main Post Content (Author's Summary)

*Actual account names are concealed, content summarized.*

5. The "True Intent" of Sepp Blatter's Exclusive Comment

In a written interview with The Guardian, 89-year-old Blatter minimized his involvement by stating, "I did not interfere with the script," and "I only participated as an advisor." He further criticized the current management, saying, "There are too many matches in today's FIFA. Expanding the Club World Cup to 32 teams is madness." This double standard of "self-denial × successor criticism" once again fueled the fire on social media.theguardian.com

6. Japanese Perspective—The 2002 Japan-Korea Tournament and FIFA Distrust

In Japan, while the successful experience of the 2002 World Cup remains strong, there is also deep-seated distrust towards FIFA's political nature regarding player development and judgment. Ten years ago, only two mini-theaters screened this film, attracting an estimated audience of less than 400. Even then, it was met with derision as "FIFA trying to justify itself again." With the recent resurgence of controversy, even young fans unfamiliar with that time have reaffirmed the image of "FIFA = corruption."

7. Comparison with Other "Black History Sports Movies"

There are many "failures," but it is unique and malicious in that FIFA itself funded and rewrote history.

8. "Governance and Narrative" Illuminated by the Film

Films often become tools to rewrite an organization's official history. While it is not uncommon for corporate promotional films to embellish company history, it is extremely rare for a sports organization to directly fund and portray itself heroically. Blatter justified it as a "cultural investment," but it ultimately became a liability for FIFA and damaged its brand image. There is no other case that has so clearly become a "reverse PR."

9. FIFA in the Post-Blatter Era and Lessons from the Film

Under Infantino's leadership, FIFA has accelerated monetization through tournament expansion and NFT sales, but criticism of "excessive commercialization," as represented by the expansion of the Club World Cup, has only intensified. Blatter's remarks merely shift the target of criticism, but the "trap of self-praise" highlighted by the film remains an effective warning for the organization's crisis management.

10. Epilogue—The Legacy of Being "The Worst"

"United Passions" is not only poorly executed, but the very idea of "a film glorifying the organization itself" is a historical blunder. The ridicule visible on social media ten years later proves how fragile the power that seeks to monopolize narratives is. As long as football fans continue to recount this film as a laughingstock, FIFA cannot escape transparency and accountability.