Following on from his work with Jimmy Grimble, Simon Clifford was enlisted as the football coach and choreographer for the filming of "Bend It Like Beckhan" during the summer of 2001. The film is directed by the award winning Gurinder Chada (Bhajis on the Beach) and stars Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean, Love Actually, King Arthur, Star Wars: Phantom Menace), Jonathon Rhys Myers (Velvet Goldmine, Gormenghast), Shaznay Lewis (pop group All Saints) and Parminder Nagra (Ella Enchanted, ER).

Simon was responsible for ensuring that the football scenes in the film were exciting and realistic. Simon worked with the actors through a four month training programme prior to filming and continued training the actors whilst also fulfilling the choreographers role during the actual shoot. The film focuses on a young Asian girl's dream to play football whilst overcoming the cultural influences she faces. The Award winning film was released in 2002.