★★★★1/2

The opening scene in Copa 71 frames the ensuing documentary perfectly.

Brandi Chastain, a member of the United States National Soccer team for nearly two decades, a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner, a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and a significant ambassador and champion of women’s soccer, looks dumbfounded.

As she watches archival footage on an iPad, she assumes she is looking at old footage of men’s soccer. When women appear on the pitch, she is confused and has no idea that she is watching footage from the Women’s World Cup Soccer tournament from 1971. In short, she knew nothing about its existence and while thrilled to learn it happened, she is also equally angered that she has never learned that it occurred.

From here, directors James Erskine and Rachel Ramsay deliver one of 2023’s best documentaries. Copa 71 brings an event that many sought to erase from history, and places highlights, details, and actual participants front and center. Why was the 1971 Women’s World Cup forgotten? Why did people want to forget it occurred? Erskine and Ramsay get to the root of the story and it is hard to not emulate Chastain’s reaction when watching their brilliant documentary.

Perhaps somewhat unfathomable to understand in today’s world, women’s football (as it is known virtually everywhere but in America) was blackballed, deemed not an acceptable sport for women to play. Football was a “man’s sport,” with some countries banning women for participating altogether. In 1970, as Mexico hosted the Men’s World Cup event and drew huge attendance numbers, the organizers felt that they could replicate the experience by hosting a Women’s World Cup event. Moving forward, they invited six national teams and the filmmakers find players from each team to share their experiences some 50 years later. The stories they share are fascinating, not only in how their lives led them to football, but also how they almost learned to play the sport in defiance, in secret, and/or in direct opposition to societal norms and expectations.

Teams representing Argentina, Denmark, England, France, Italy, and Mexico competed over the course of 11 tournament matches and the final drew more than 110,000 spectators. And yet, FIFA, amateur football organizations from many of these countries, and other governing agencies deemed the event unofficial and have rarely included its results in any historical record books related to women’s soccer or the sport of football in general.

As your blood likely boils over these facts and details, the stories from the athletes Erskine and Ramsay share with us are what make Copa 71 such a powerful film. Through great editing by Arturo Calvete and Mark Roberts, we are immersed in the time period, with music cues and context drawing us into a past that seems both distant memory and close at hand. Remarkably, as Executive Producer Serena Williams shares in voiceover, much of the footage in Copa 71 was believed to have been lost. As a result, some of the participants are witnessing clips from the tournament for the very first time.

There’s clearly more to the story than what Copa 71 gives us in its 90 minute run time. And even if Google searches and other research mechanisms feel woefully inadequate with information on the event, Erskine and Ramsay recapture a significant moment in sports history, while also making a strident statement on equality, opportunity, and inclusiveness.

Not lost on anyone involved in the film is that we are far, far away from a time when the ills in society these women faced will be remedied. Awareness is key, and Copa 71 is significant and powerful in both enlightening viewers and infuriating them. Plus, it succeeds at creating a space where these athletes can feel free and comfortable to share their stories and relive and recount their moment in history - a moment one hopes is no longer wiped away or swept under the rug.

Copa 71 was screened as part of the Seattle International Film Festival 2023 DocFest.