PUBLICITY RELEASE
Thursday August 31 2006
A National Soccer Team - With No Nation!
When a group of exiled Tibetans living in Denmark decide to set up a national soccer team, it seems like an impossible
goal. After all, how can you have a national team without a nation?
Thanks to the support of some enthusiastic Danes and their own determination and commitment, a team of talented Tibetans
soccer players is formed. But that’s just the start of a long, tough two-year battle to achieve sporting glory.
This inspirational story – from the players’ first coaching session on a grassless pitch in India to the last whistle of
their biggest match in Copenhagen – is told in the award-winning documentary THE FORBIDDEN TEAM.
“The Tibetan national soccer team’s devotion to the cause can best be described by the Buddhist saying ‘If you walk –
walk – don’t wobble’,” says the documentary’s creative director Christian Stadil. “Even when there are obstacles, they
stand their ground. It’s been a fantastic journey and nobody dreamed it would become so big.”
Cheer on the brave soccer players of Tibet when Maori Television screens THE FORBIDDEN TEAM in the International
Documentary slot on Tuesday September 26 at 8.30 PM.
ENDS