Copa 71

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 pioneering 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. (Dogwoof Pictures)