The Maasai Cricket Warriors, as they’re called, are the subject of Warriors, a documentary film by British director Barney Douglas. It follows the Maasai players from their village of Il Polei all the way to London for their first cricket championship.

The Warriors also wanted to inspire youth. They taught children how to play cricket and traveled to schools to speak to students about FGM, gender equality and HIV/AIDS, a disease that has affected the Maasai community.

They led by example, vowing not to marry any woman who has undergone the cut.

“If you want to join the team, you have to subscribe to the objective of ending FGM,” says Douglas. “And you have to practice what you preach.”