Copa 71 TV review — the Women’s World Cup that Fifa refused to sanction

If the prospect of England’s men’s team toiling their way to an inevitable semi-final exit at the Euros is already getting you down, then the BBC’s Storyville strand presents a stirring 90-minute documentary about a national squad to be proud of.

Copa 71 is the story of the “Lost Lionesses” — and their counterparts from Denmark, Mexico, France, Italy and Argentina — who took part in a record-breaking, convention-shattering, unsanctioned Women’s World Cup in Mexico in 1971. Through previously unseen footage from the three-week festival of football, present-day interviews with the players and expert contributions, the film both celebrates the beautiful game and exposes the ugly chauvinism of the sport’s male gatekeepers.

We begin with a dispiriting history of how the English Football Association (and later other countries’ FAs) banned the increasingly popular women’s game in the early 1920s because of pseudoscientific concerns about health. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that women, encouraged by second-wave feminism, started to take to the field again — as seen in a very enjoyable montage set to Nancy Sinatra. These boots were made for kicking balls.

Despite the hand-wringing at Fifa, football’s governing body, a few savvy entrepreneurs saw the potential of following the lucrative 1970 Men’s World Cup in Mexico with a women’s tournament in the football-crazed country. Suddenly teams without funding or infrastructure — used to playing on muddy fields in front of dog-walkers and hecklers — found themselves invited to compete in a packed 110,000-seater stadium. A strong sororal spirit emerged between the squads and a febrile atmosphere built. The broader significance was never lost on them. “It was a political act,” says Mexico’s Elvira Aracén.

But the film is not so condescending to suggest that taking part was all that mattered. A trove of match-day footage showcases the players’ flair as well as crunching tackles and contentious decisions on the pitch. Half a century on, some refereeing calls and missed chances clearly continue to sting. But while the players remember every kick, it took the world just weeks to forget these pioneering women, many of whom never had the chance to play professionally again.

With this poignant tribute, however, the legacy of that glorious summer should finally get the recognition it deserves — even if, according to the film, to this day Fifa still refuses to acknowledge the legitimacy of the tournament.

★★★★☆

On BBC iPlayer now