Copa 71

The #1 record holder for attendance at a women’s sporting event in history was a gauntlet fought on and off the field, a feat you likely haven’t heard of. It’s Copa 71, the first, though unofficial, women’s soccer World Cup. Co-directed by James Erskine and Rachel Ramsey and executive produced by tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams and soccer star Alex Morgan, “Copa 71” chronicles the fight for women’s right to play soccer and the revolutionary 1971 grassroots tournament that followed. 

“Copa 71” comprises interviews with the players and archival footage and photographs that tell not only the overarching story of how the tournament came to be but the individual women’s relationships with the sport. Like many things, when these women were growing up, soccer was considered for men only. Mexican player Silvia Zaragoza describes playing in secret as a child, knowing her father would hit her if she was caught because it was not “how girls should behave.” Italian player Elena Schiavo chronicles a memory of beating up the schoolboys who wouldn’t let her play, and averse to a life of “marriage, kids, and cooking,” English player Carol Wilson joined the Air Force instead, saying she thought, “I bet if I join the Air Force, I’ll be able to play football there.”