Japanese footy fans are put in the spotlight in this doc from Rakuten

Japanese football fans are pretty poorly served if they want to see some of the world's top players.

However, in the summer of 2019, two of the world’s top football teams — FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC — visited Japan to join Vissel Kobe in the inaugural Rakuten Cup, a historic mini-tournament organised, as the name suggests, by Rakuten.

Documenting the events, and, more importantly, speaking to the obsessives who are relishing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Annex director Mike Rodgers and a local Japanese documentary crew have created The Fans, a heartwarming short that shows that the beautiful game has ubiquitous appeal.

Smartly dedicating most of the runtime to the supporters themselves, Rodgers film is an engaging and enlightening exploration of dreams coming true.