Copa 71 review: celebrating football’s forgotten female tournament

A hit at festivals last year, Copa 71 is the story of a football tournament forgotten by history. Introduced by sporting icon Serena Williams, it’s about the 1971 Women’s World Cup in Mexico, a rogue tournament held against the wishes of politicians and football’s rule makers. Drawing record crowds and fevered enthusiasm, the tournament would be erased from history until film was uncovered.

The format of this piece feels like many sports documentaries you will find packed on to streaming services. Archive footage accompanies personal anecdotes from those who were there, with the occasional historian thrown in to explain the context. However, while the delivery will be familiar, the story certainly won’t. It’s incredible to watch this tournament unfold, with all the interviewees lighting up when they look back at a moment in time when they were sporting gods.

The vivid colours of the archive footage feel like unearthing treasure; it’s unbelievable to look at the packed stadiums and think this could have been forgotten.

Interwoven with the sporting achievements are global attitudes of the time, with some interview footage underlining what these women were up against. Governments, the public, and football’s governing body FIFA all demean women in the game, offering pseudoscience and bigotry as means to suppress development. It’s uncomfortable at times, both because of the backwards attitudes of the era, and how it examines the sexism which still remains today, through trolling and online abuse.

Nevertheless, directors Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine ensure the movie‘s focus is on the pitch, and no amount of misogyny can bring down the euphoric feeling of these athletes having their moment. There’s something to be said for letting a great story speak for itself. Copa 71 may follow a familiar formation, but the sheer joy behind its subject makes for an uplifting ninety minutes.

Copa 71 is in cinemas from 8 March.

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