Review: Copa 71 (2023)
The visuals are astounding, and the 70s graininess of the footage only adds to the authenticity of what will hopefully now be widely considered as an event that made history
Copa 71 | Official UK Trailer | Dir. James Erskine & Rachel Ramsay
Documentaries can all too easily slip into the trap of becoming a vanity project about a specialist subject that has very little bearing on what’s important in our world. Copa 71 does not fall into this category. In fact, it’s an exemplary, shining light in documentary filmmaking, telling an extraordinary story while uncovering a hidden truth within recent sporting history.
The 1971 Women’s World Cup took place in Mexico, but since women’s football was not officially recognised by FIFA, it was (and still is) considered an unofficial competition and was resultantly buried as soon as it ended. So it’s no wonder that most people are unaware that it took ever place, let alone that the tournament was record breaking and socially transgressive. It remains the highest attended women’s sporting event in history.
Brandi Chastain (2 x World Cup Winner) is interviewed as part of the documentary and prior to being shown the footage within the stadiums, even she was unaware that a World Cup of this scale took place 20 years prior to the first ‘official’ one. It makes you wonder, especially with the influence and respect that professional sportspeople have, how much of a cultural and social impact could this event have had, if it had been promoted in the same way a men’s competition would have been? How many other little girls would have been inspired to play, exercise and kick a ball around a pitch without fear of judgement if they had seen women doing it too? The power of acceptance and inclusion are far reaching, as the documentary proves.
Before getting to Mexico, the film takes us through a brief history of women’s football to contextualise social attitudes and the utter nonsense that women have put up with for decades. In some European countries, for example, it was a criminal offence for women to play football; in some reputable journals doctors wrote that playing football could damage a woman’s ovaries - ultimately, women’s football was seen as a disgrace.
Cue dismissal, shame and loaded questions such as: “What’s a nice girl like you doing playing football?” Remove ‘playing football’ with any male-dominated space, activity or job and you’ve got yourself sexism in a nutshell. The introduction to the sport certainly provides enough information, even for non-football fans, to understand how anti-woman the global governing body of football was, and how aggressively those in power fought to politicise and gate-keep a sport that they believed should be a place to celebrate masculinity.
Though the film is about ‘the beautiful game’ it is also a fascinating exploration of the influence that governing bodies have to threaten and scare off anyone they don’t want involved, for fear of tarnishing their name and challenging the status quo. The tournament got off the ground because a set of Mexican entrepreneurs saw the potential in women’s football to turn a profit (and the exploitation of the Mexican players in lining the pockets of men is covered - albeit fairly briefly). But as a way to hinder its success, as it was being organised, FIFA forced the tournament into two of the largest stadiums in Mexico - the Estadio Jalisco (56000 capacity) and Estadio Azteca (87,000). Well, more fool them because that backfired: the Azteca sold out and it was all caught on film. The visuals are astounding, and the 70s graininess of the footage only adds to the authenticity of what will hopefully now be widely considered as an event that made history.
As we are taken through each stage of the tournament, footage and still images of the women as they train, play and engage with life in Mexico give us an insight into how much it really meant to the women from the national teams who played in 1971. For the players representing England, they were working class girls who had never been on plane before, in high spirits and full of appreciation for every opportunity to get on the field in front of a crowd in an unforgettably electric stadium. Interviews with players from England, France, Italy, Denmark, Argentina and Mexico reveal the grace, humility and amazement of the women as they relive a time in their lives that they could never truly celebrate afterwards, since footage was hidden and local press and football federations behaved like it never happened. Some were even publicly shamed for their success.
Interviews with women from the squads feel natural and unforced, drawing upon their memories from 1971 and provide enough space that their personalities shine through. Besides clearly being highly skilled athletes, they also come across as thoughtful, intelligent, interesting and funny. Some highlights of those featured include the following: Elba Selva, who scored 4 goals for Argentina against England; Carol Wilson, captain of the England squad (the ‘Lost Lionesses’ since they have never been recognised as an official team); Elena Schiavo, Italian footballer, who was known for her physical strength and considered by many to be the world’s best female footballer at the time; Birte Kjems and Ann Stengård, players from the winning Danish team, who were a delightful duo to watch and listen to: “I play football because I like to play football.”
The erasure of the success of the women in this global tournament is certainly one of the most shocking revelations to comprehend in the documentary, and it is devastating to see the effect that it had on some of the players for a long time afterwards. However, that is countered by the elation of the players as they experience the highs of an intense and joyous time on the pitch. They recount the warm welcome received from the host nation, the importance they felt as international athletes and the love they had for one another - and of course for the game itself. And now that Copa 71 has been released, their achievements can never again be buried, dismissed or minimalised - all 110,000 of the people in attendance for the 1971 Women’s World Cup Final are right there on film for all to see and admire, and these national, pioneering teams will no longer be forgotten.
Verdict: From its initiation to the final, Copa 71 tells the story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup. An excellent and essential sports documentary and with exec producers Serena and Venus Williams on the crew list, let’s just hope it travels far and wide and gets seen by people who have the right sort of influence to ensure that women’s football stays on the right track.*
Overall? ⭐⭐️⭐⭐1/2
Big screen appeal? 🎬🎬🎬🎬
Accolade eligibility? 💡💡💡💡💡
Study-worthy? 📚📚📚📚📚
*N.B. At the time of writing, the film is being review-bombed on IMDb, with 36.7% of scores rating it a 1 out of 10. If you see the film, please score it honestly and if you liked it, big it up to your friends!
Further information:
Girls United is an international non-profit working to provide more opportunities and access to football for girls and young women at grassroots level. Using the power of football, Girls United aims to empower the next generation of players and be a catalyst of change for a more equal world on and off the pitch. Find out more about their work at www.girlsunitedfa.org or by following them on social media ‘@girlsunitedfa’.
This post is part of an International Women’s Day event taking place on Instagram in support of this year’s IWD campaign theme, Inspire Inclusion. Search for #InspireInclusioninFilm on Instagram to catch up with all the posts. Read about the theme here: www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme.