COPA 71
For many soccer fans, 1991 is remembered as a major turning point, when FIFA officially sanctioned the Women’s World Cup. But to the many international soccer players and 100,000-plus fans that packed a Mexico City stadium during the late summer of 1971, this recognition was long overdue. After nearly 50 years of being erased from history, directors Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine have uncovered the exhilarating, pulse-pounding footage of the 1971 Women’s World Cup, an event that not only cemented the female players’ athletic prowess, but proved that there was a passionate fandom for such an event. Players from around the world revisit the blood, sweat, and tears that they devoted to their teams, often for the first time. Like Questlove’s Oscar-winning SUMMER OF SOULl, COPA 71 is a powerful and necessary work of excavation, bringing to light a crucial moment that’s been unfairly left out of the history books. Told through never-before-seen footage and enlightening testimonials from the soccer superstars who participated, COPA 71 is an unforgettable, beautiful film about the beautiful game.
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