Pegsa Produces Its First Vertical Short-Form Documentary for ESPN

Pegsa has added its first vertical short-form documentary to its production portfolio, Las Leonas: Behind the Legend. Produced for ESPN, the series consists of 30 two- to three-minute episodes that offer an inside look at the Argentina women’s national field hockey team as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup. The series is already available on ESPN Fans on YouTube.

The production brings a storytelling format that has been gaining traction in audiovisual consumption into the documentary space: short, fast-paced stories specifically designed for vertical viewing.

Pegsa adapts the codes of this new language to sports content, combining its dynamism with the depth and storytelling approach of documentary filmmaking. The challenge was to adapt a format traditionally conceived and filmed horizontally into short-form pieces without losing the essence of the story being told.

Las Leonas: Behind the Legend follows Las Leonas on their road to the 2026 World Cup, which will take place from August 15 to 30 in the Netherlands and Belgium. Led by head coach Fernando Ferrara, the Argentina squad features María José Granatto as captain, alongside Cristina Cosentino, Mercedes Artola, Agustina Gorzelany, Valentina Raposo, Sofía Cairo, Sofía Toccalino, Milagros Alastra, Emma Knobl, Agostina Alonso, Juana Castellaro, Victoria Miranda, Victoria Sauze, Eugenia Trinchinetti, Paula Ortiz, Victoria Granatto, Julieta Jankunas, Zoe Díaz, Brisa Bruggesser and Lara Casas.

The documentary offers an intimate, authentic and human portrait of a process that began in December 2025 with the team’s participation in the Pro League and continues through the pinnacle of international competition. Training sessions, travel and tours, matches, personal conversations, team dynamics and unseen moments from everyday life build the chronicle of the national team’s preparation. Each episode works as a standalone piece, while together they form the emotional narrative of that journey, which will continue throughout the World Cup with new episodes documenting the competition.

“At Pegsa, we have been working for years on major sports coverage and documentary content, and this production allowed us to combine those two experiences in a different kind of proposal. It is our first venture into vertical short-form content and also represents a commitment to exploring new ways of producing and telling stories, adapting to new consumption habits without compromising the quality and depth required of documentary content,” said Sergio Ferraro, Senior Director of Production and Operations at Pegsa.

To create this behind-the-scenes record, a team of nine Pegsa professionals spent nine months following the players and coaching staff. Production took place between December 2025 and August 2026, gathering footage in Buenos Aires and Santiago del Estero, as well as Australia, China, Belgium and England.

Part of the journey was filmed handheld by the players themselves, who were given equipment to document different moments of the tours from their own perspective. This material is combined with interviews, testimonials, training footage, match footage and broadcast material.

The project is led by Mercedes “Mechi” Margalot, a former member of Las Leonas and one of the most recognizable figures in Argentine hockey, who is currently part of ESPN Hockey broadcasts and serves as the documentary’s executive producer. Her knowledge of the national team and deep connection to the sport provide a particularly close perspective for a production designed to show the team from a different angle.

Access to the team’s private world is one of the documentary’s key differentiators. The production aims to capture what typically remains outside match broadcasts and social media: what it is like to experience a World Cup preparation process from within, including the conversations, relationships, challenges and everyday moments that shape the squad over months of training and competition.

The result is an observational, intimate and authentic portrayal of a team that rarely opens the door to its private world.

The first episode, “Legacy,” introduces the history of Las Leonas before turning to the current national team. Subsequent episodes explore different aspects of the squad and its preparation, including what it means to wear the Argentina jersey, its relationship with fans, defeat and the need to compete again, the role of the goalkeepers, tours of Australia and China, Pro League matches in Belgium and England, the coexistence of different generations and the process leading to the final squad selection. The series culminates with the episode “The Farewell,” as the team heads to the World Cup.

Twenty-five years after Sydney 2000, when the legend of Las Leonas was born, the Argentina women’s national hockey team arrives at another World Cup as the Argentine team with the most Olympic and World Cup podium finishes in history. That legacy now meets a squad that combines experience and youth, facing the challenge of preserving its identity while writing its own chapter in the Argentina jersey.

Las Leonas: Behind the Legend features executive production by Mercedes Margalot; production by Paz Beccar Varela and Constanza Mango; a script by Graciela Elmer, Pablo Castagnari and Giselle Kañevsky; and post-production by Carolina Cruz, Mariano Calderone and Romain Vallée. The first episodes are already available on ESPN Fans on YouTube.