Emily Bader set to portray soccer legend Mia Hamm in Netflix film The 99’ers

Emily Bader will star as soccer icon Mia Hamm in Netflix’s The 99’ers, directed by Watchmen helmer Nicole Kassell

Netflix has tapped rising star Emily Bader to portray retired soccer legend Mia Hamm in its upcoming sports drama The 99’ers. 

The film chronicles the historic 1999 U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team victory that transformed women’s sports on a global scale.

The 99’ers is based on Jeré Longman’s book The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed the World. The story centers on the U.S. team’s dramatic penalty shootout win against China at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, played before a crowd of more than 93,000 fans. The match became a cultural milestone, helping propel women’s soccer into the mainstream.

Bader’s casting follows the success of her Netflix rom-com People We Meet on Vacation, which debuted at No. 1 on the Global Top 10 English Films list. With this project, Netflix continues its collaboration with the actress, positioning her as a key face in its upcoming film slate.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest women’s soccer players of all time, Mia Hamm joined the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team at just 15 years old and went on to win multiple World Cups and Olympic gold medals. She was named FIFA World Player of the Year twice and retired as the world’s all-time leading international goal scorer. Hamm was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007 and remains influential in the sport as a co-owner of Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC.

The film will be directed by Emmy winner Nicole Kassell (Watchmen, Sirens), with a script by Katie Lovejoy, Dana Stevens, and Peter Hedges. Production is led by Liza Chasin’s 3Dot Productions alongside a team of veteran producers and executive producers.