Noah and BT Sport team up for South Of The River

Noah Media Group and BT Sport Films are to release three-part documentary series, South Of The River, on 23 November.

Created by Noah’s Gabriel Clarke (Finding Jack Charlton – BBC, Bobby Robson: More Than a Manager – Netflix, Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans – Official Selection, Cannes, Out of Their Skin – ITV), directed by Jay Gill (Out of Their Skin – ITV, John Barnes Life Stories – ITV), and executive produced by Rio Ferdinand, the documentary looks at how an unusually high number of England’s top footballers have come from a small area of south London.

It is also executive produced by Noah’s Simon Corney (Out of Their Skin - ITV, All Around – Olympic Channel, Beyond Human – Discovery+) and John McKenna (Finding Jack Charlton – BBC, Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans– Official Selection, Cannes). International sales will be handled by Noah’s in-house international sales and distribution arm, NoahX. 

Jadon Sancho (Manchester United & England), Joe Gomez (Liverpool & England), Tammy Abraham (Roma & England) Aaron Wan Bissaka (Manchester Utd), Declan Rice (West Ham & England), Ademola Lookman (RB Leipzig), Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham), Michail Antonio (West Ham), and Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace) are among those to have come from the densely populated and statistically underprivileged area.

Sancho and Gomez in particular will speak of their experiences and how they have risen to the top, as well as Ferdinand.

In addition to looking at the stories of established stars, the series will examine the next generation of up-and-coming, ambitious and highly talented teenagers coming from the area. It will include contributions from coaches, talent scouts, community leaders, friends and family to show what life is like for these young people.

Ferdinand said: “It’s great that the area of London I grew up in is getting the recognition it deserves - it’s a talent factory like no other. You’ll hear from me and many others who, against the odds, have been lucky enough to represent south London in the biggest clubs and international competitions in the world. South Of The River shines a light on what makes the place so special and the obstacles that need to be overcome, whilst showcasing the next generation who are daring to dream by following in our footsteps.”

Sally Brown, BT Sport Films executive producer & commissioning editor, added: “I have long-admired the quality of Noah Media’s long form documentary output and was excited to work with them on South of the River. Their approach to storytelling fits in well with ours and I’m thrilled to be able to add this 3-part series to the award-winning BT Sport Films stable. It joins a very exciting Autumn line up of titles on BT Sport including the recent Standing Firm: Football’s Windrush Story, Glenn Hoddle: Extra Time and The Special 1.”

 McKenna added: “We are delighted to be collaborating on this fascinating Series with BT Sport Films. It is great to add BT Sport Films as a documentary partner for Noah and we hope this will be the first of many collaborations. We are excited to have developed a series that includes incredible themes, narratives and characters - delivering what we always aim for: a documentary about much more than the sport itself.”