Copa 71
Rachel Ramsay & James Erskine / United Kingdom / 2023 / 90 min
A forgotten chapter in Danish football history finally gets its place in the spotlight 50 years after a legendary World Cup match in Mexico. A film with women in all the leading roles and with all the drama and excitement you would expect from a true adventure.
In the summer of 1971, the world’s best national teams meet for the World Cup in Mexico. The tournament is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before, and it’s possible you’ve never heard of it. Why? The players on the pitch were women, and both FIFA and the national football associations rejected the idea. As a result, the unofficial Women’s World Cup was written out of history and has remained out there until now. Through colourful archive clips that no one has seen for half a century and new interviews with the players themselves, ‘Copa 71’ fills in the gaps in the collective amnesia. National team players recount the surreal days in Latin America when women’s football took the world stage and filled the newspapers, TV screens and radio airwaves. Danish national team legends Birthe Kjems and Ann Stengaard look back on the tournament and the final, where 112,000 spectators sat in the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City to watch them play against the host nation.