FIFA and RISE Worldwide On Thursday declared the launch of 'Captain Fantastic', a three-part docuseries. Captain Fantastic is about India’s legendary skipper Sunil Chhetri, one of the world’s top international goal-scorers. FIFA announced that the three episodes are available on FIFA+, its streaming platform.
"You know all about Ronaldo and Messi, now get the definitive story of the third highest scoring active men's international. Sunil Chhetri | Captain Fantastic is available on FIFA+ now," FIFA tweeted from its World Cup handle.
The series captures a lot of what is unseen and unheard about this football star, be it his pre-teen anguish, his debut for India at the age of 20, his romance with his future wife, and his early days and his career peak as a football player with several awards and records under his belt.
Sunil Chhetri was elated and said: “I am extremely humbled to have a docu-film capturing my life’s story through the lens of the people who have made me who I am. I would like to thank FIFA and RISE Worldwide for bringing alive my life using such a creative and engaging narrative. I hope that this docu-film serves as an inspiration for the new generation of Indian footballers to serve the ultimate dream of making India a global football powerhouse.”
James Rego, Head of Broadcast & Production RISE Worldwide, said: “I thank FIFA+ for entrusting us with Captain Fantastic, a docu-series on Sunil Chhetri, who has been a phenomenon and great in Indian football. Capturing varied aspects of his exemplary life, it takes the viewer through a gamut of emotions, the highs and lows, the excitement of a goal scored and the despair of one missed. A tight script and state-of-the-art equipment used to produce this series goes into making Captain Fantastic one gripping tale. We hope it resonates with football fans across geographies.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Chhetri and said, "Well done Sunil Chhetri! This will certainly boost football’s popularity in India."
Notably, 38-year-old Chhetri is third on the list of active footballers with the most international goals with 84 strikes to his name, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (117) and Lionel Messi (90).