Critical popcorn

It’s been great to see the rise of Women’s Football, or soccer if you’re across the various seas, in recent years – and obviously with the Lionesses leading the way in England and backing up their progression with outstanding performances, as well as becoming European Champions in 2022!

This new doc, COPA 71, sounds quite astonishing and certainly isn’t something I’d heard about before because it delves into the history of women’s world football, and an unofficial Women’s World Cup, how it occurred, and why we all seem to have forgotten it even happened.

From Dogwoof, Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine’s documentary COPA 71 takes us to August 1971 as teams from England, Argentina, Mexico, France, Denmark, and Italy have gathered at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.

The scale of the tournament was unprecedented: large sponsorship, extensive TV coverage, merchandise on every corner, and crowds of over 100,000 roaring fans… But this is a tournament unlike anything that’s happened before. The players on the pitch are all women. And it’s likely you’ve never even heard of it. This is Copa ‘71, the unofficial Women’s World Cup:

Dismissed by both the governing body and domestic football associations around the world, this event had been sidelined in history… until now, as the film will shed light on the history of women’s sport and the injustices women were subjected to, and I look forward to checking it when released!

COPA 71 will be in UK cinemas from 8^th March 2024