It is August 1971. Teams from England, Argentina, Mexico, France, Denmark, and Italy gathered in Mexico City for a watershed soccer tournament: lavish sponsorship, extensive TV coverage, merchandise on every street corner, and over 100,000 roaring fans turned the historic Azteca stadium into a cauldron of noise while a fawning media treated the players like rock stars. This was the greatest show on earth but, despite being one of the most ground-breaking moments in soccer history, you’ve probably never heard of it. And why? Because the players were all women, and the heroic event that unfolded has been sidelined from history – until now.

COPA 71 is the extraordinary story of an extraordinary tournament – told through the voices of those who lived it: fearless women from across the globe to whom today’s players, be they superstars like Megan Rapinoe, Lucy Bronze and Marta, or a young girl playing in her local park, owe so much.

The tournament was the flame that lit the touchpaper for the explosion of women’s soccer around the globe – the catalyst that led to the 2015 Women’s World Cup final gaining TV audiences in America larger than the NBA final.

In spite of the fact that the blazer-wearing men of soccer associations around the world waged a war on women’s soccer from the 1920s, and that soccer's governing body tried to stop Copa ‘71 from happening at all, this remarkable event is believed to be the highest-ever attendance for a women’s sporting event – and at 100,000+ it is a record that will likely never be broken. Through recently uncovered and never-seen archive and compelling contemporary interviews, the film revels in the excitement, passion and humor of this inexplicably well-kept secret.

With cinematic flair, an original score and a thumping ‘70s soundtrack driven by female singer-songwriters including Carole King, Nancy Sinatra, Kiki Dee, Koko Taylor and Lara Saint Paul, COPA 71 sets the players’ personal stories within the context of women’s liberation movement in the ‘60s through to present day in England, Italy, France, Argentina, Denmark, and Mexico.

About the Filmmakers

RACHEL RAMSAY and JAMES ERSKINE, Co-Directors and Writers

While COPA 71 is the first film Rachel and James have directed together (and Rachel’s feature debut), they have been collaborating on a raft of acclaimed theatrical films and streamer series for a number of years, including the forthcoming FLIGHT OF BRYAN, the Indian box office topping SACHIN: A BILLION DREAMS, the hit soccer doc THE END OF THE STORM, and the Amazon Originals series LE MANS: RACING IS EVERYTHING and THIS IS FOOTBALL (winner of the 202 Humanitas Prize).

Rachel started out in news journalism in London and Paris and, able to work in Spanish, French and Portuguese, went on to establish herself working across a wide range of unscripted series, each one with an international perspective.

IDA-nominated for his film BILLIE, Emmy-nominated James has been working across scripted and unscripted and his other theatrical documentaries include THE ICE KING, THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES and PANTANI: THE ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF A CYCLIST.

Post screening talkback will feature directors Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine.