Screening:
Saturday, March 23, 2024 – 5:30 pm
Sunday, March 24, 2024 – 4:00 pm
Venue: Galaxy Cinemas, 72 Commerce Park Drive, Barrie
“Copa 71 exposes an obscured chapter in history and thrusts its heroes into a well-deserved spotlight.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“With a relentless pace and plenty of kick, Copa 71 makes it easy to get swept up in the excitement.” - Variety
“The 'Summer of Soul' of women’s athletics… An entertaining concoction.” - The Wrap
“Extremely inspirational and heartwarming… The sense of international sisterhood that permeates this World Cup is something rare and special.” - Collider
In this documentary executive produced by Serena and Venus Williams, the filmmakers use archival footage and new interviews to tell the story of the unofficial 1971 Women’s World Cup, a moment virtually erased from the history of soccer.
It is August 1971. Soccer teams from England, Argentina, Mexico, France, Denmark, and Italy have gathered at Mexico City’s sun-drenched Azteca Stadium. The scale of the tournament is monumental: lavish sponsorship, extensive TV coverage, merchandise on every street corner, and crowds of over 100,000 roaring fans turn this historic stadium into a cauldron of noise match after match. A fawning media treat the players like rock stars. The atmosphere is reminiscent of the greatest moments in international soccer history.
But this is a tournament unlike anything that’s happened before. The players on the pitch are all women. And it’s likely you’ve never even heard of it. This is Copa ‘71, the unofficial Women’s World Cup. Dismissed by both the governing body and domestic soccer associations around the world, this event had been sidelined in history. Until now.