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Beyond the Pitch Episode 84: Rewriting the Legacy of Copa '71 'The Hidden Game' Episode 1
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Thank you for joining Briony and Raj on todays episode.
In today’s episode we’re diving deep into the extraordinary stories and untold struggles of women in football. Together, we’ll uncover how the past has shaped the present and where we go from here.
We will do this through the breaking down of the new series inspired by the groundbreaking documentary Copa ’71. For those who aren’t familiar, Copa ’71 was a watershed moment in women’s football history—a tournament that brought the best players from around the world to showcase their talents on an international stage. But if you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. Buried footage, forgotten stories, and a deliberate lack of acknowledgment ensured that this tournament all but disappeared from the history books.
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Transcript
Introduction to Beyond the Pitch
00:00:11
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello and welcome to Beyond the Pitch, a daily women's football podcast brought to you by the Global Sports Podcast Network. Today, it's brought to you by surprise, surprise myself, Briany, and surprise, surprise, introduce yourself.
00:00:26
Raj
Raj! Hi! How are you, Brody, alright?
00:00:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
I'm good, thank you, how are you?
00:00:33
Raj
I am living my best life.
00:00:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
Excited, I assume, for what we're about to present this evening.
00:00:42
Raj
I'm really excited. This has been long awaited, hasn't it? We've been talking about it for a while. And I think um we our schedules have just calmed down a bit to allow us to um get into it.
00:00:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm-hmm.
00:00:52
Raj
So exciting times.
00:00:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
100%.
The Untold Struggles of Women in Football
00:00:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
So in today's episode, we are going to dive deep into the extraordinary stories and the untold struggles of women in football, as always.
00:01:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
We'll uncover how the past has shaped the present and where we go from here. We will do this through breaking the breaking down of a new series we are going to cover, inspired by the groundbreaking documentary Copa 71. For those who aren't familiar, Copa 71 was a watershed moment in women's football history.
00:01:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
A tournament that brought the best players from around the world to showcase their talents on the international stage. But if you've never heard of it, you're not alone. Buried footage, forgotten stories and a deliberate lack of acknowledgement ensured that the tournament all but disappeared from our history books. That's why we're here. The podcast series aims to shed light on the hidden legacy of COPA 71 where we will ask critical questions about why this history was a erased and how its erasure still impacts the women's game today. Each episode of which there should be eight of them will explore key themes inspired by the documentary including systemic barriers, societal stereotypes and the continued fight for equality in football.
00:02:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
In this episode, we begin at the very heart of the story and why Copa 71 was such a pivotal moment and how its legacy and systemically it was diminished. We also reflect on what rewriting this forgotten history can mean for women's football moving forward.
00:02:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's a journey of rediscovery, celebration and unflinching truth-telling about the challenges and triumphs of women's football. So, gosh, that was long but much needed.
00:02:43
Raj
And breathe and breathe that was brilliant though of that I Think we covered everything but that Is Yeah, yeah um Let me
00:02:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
just to kind of set the scene. So, Copa 71, a new, well, I say new, do you know what? That's one of the few things, how long has this but documentary been out now?
00:02:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's new, it's it's new, isn't it? It's something that I've not come across until I think you told me about it. I think it's called b the BBC's Copa 71, the Lost Lioness, which,
00:03:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think this is going to be really exciting in terms of covering through a series. So as an unofficial women's World Cup held in Mexico in 71 featured the teams or countries of England, Denmark, Mexico, and Italy. The final match drew an astonishing crowd of over 110,000 fans showcasing the immense excitement and the potential of women's football. Many
Copa 71: Forgotten but Impactful
00:03:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
plays were amateur or, you know, having to overcome significant barriers to upset their countries.
00:03:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it's important that we really start with why, you know, this series in itself is going to matter in terms of the the push that we always go for on the stage of equality in women's football and, you know, like reclaiming stories like COPA 71 and the importance of bringing it to light. Like we've just said, most people don't even know about COPA 71 as a tournament.
00:04:13
Raj
No, and I've just had a little check. The documentary's been out since March this year.
00:04:18
Global Sports Podcast Network
Very new.
00:04:19
Raj
um Even in that first bit that you just said, um the attendance over 110,000 like this documentary is going to be important because today in women's football um I went to the lionesses vs USA game in Wembley a at the end of last month and and they always shout record attendance 80,000 hang on a sec already there's a flaw because
00:04:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:04:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, mm-hmm.
00:04:56
Raj
years ago they were smashing out with 110 000 and again like why don't we know about that why is the 80 000 record attendance it's not
00:05:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Exactly and we um we will quite regularly come back to this I think throughout the series and across all the episodes we do on this where everything that happened during this period of time, everything to do with related to this tournament was um deliberately covered up.
00:05:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
um move We'll get into that and I think it's interesting but it's a
00:05:27
Raj
exactly. and
00:05:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think in terms of you know future the future episodes here and what we'll start with today, I think it's important to note that the documentary as a whole, which reflects very well the whole tournament, the experience of the players, the barriers that led up to get into the tournament, being part of the tournament, the repercussions of it, the bodies they had to fight against, it just perfectly, in my opinion, highlights everything we ever talk about.
00:05:55
Raj
Yeah.
00:06:01
Raj
everything that we mind about on this podcast.
00:06:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
everything
00:06:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
Everything that we have pulled from this documentary and that we will discuss in more detail across these episodes so perfectly aligns with improves everything that we we talk about.
00:06:07
Raj
a
00:06:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
It really does.
00:06:18
Raj
Yeah, yep, agreed. And it was like, as I was watching it, I was just, everything was shocking, but I wasn't shocked by anything.
00:06:30
Raj
And
00:06:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm hmm.
00:06:32
Raj
it's all still happening. And I just thought all the players that were talking ah during the documentary and all the same feeling, all the hype they had around women's football, them is the same hype now, but the same problems they face then are the same problems we're facing now.
00:06:49
Raj
And it's just literally like, what is this?
00:06:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yep.
00:06:51
Raj
i Like I stepped back in time, like it was insane, but um it's insane because obviously we planned to watch a documentary and then just do a podcast on it.
00:07:03
Raj
And um as we were watching it and you were messaging me like, this is so meaty and insane. Like every part of the documentary, there's something new, so and another problem to dissect, to go into, into great detail, which is obviously how you came up with the with the great idea of making it a series.
00:07:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
yep
00:07:26
Raj
And I'm really excited about it. and It's something else that we can do for those players, those women, and that obviously were able to voice everything that they went through on the documentary, but not only are they been able to voice it now, we can re-voice it for them again, hear what they went through and we can we can resonate.
00:07:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yep. Yep.
00:07:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
I'm just going to pull up a word you used there, which was exactly, I think what I was looking for prior was the word dissect. I think this really will give us the opportunity through, can you know, running this series over a number of episodes, we can go into a lot more depth over a lot more things. And you're right, it was, you know, when I sat there watching it and I was thinking, you know, we're going to plan a podcast on this. And I was just like, there is way too much to talk about here for it to be just, you know, on its own as a singular here. We've got to make this a bigger thing. And it's so it's exciting. You know, I think it's important to note for
Historical Marginalization of Women's Football
00:08:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
people listening as well that maybe haven't watched or what I would suggest is if you are going to listen to this series that maybe you do head over and have a watch of the documentary. Obviously, everything will be a bit more contextual. But it's really important to know, I think, like you said,
00:08:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
the whole way through the documentary you have actually got the players of some of the Copa players of 71 who actually did experience it on their talking from across all the nations as well not just the English one.
00:08:58
Raj
yeah
00:08:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
It was absolutely amazing and I mean for me watching the documentary like It was a bit emotional, it obviously resonated hard with me, um but i sorry, some of the dumb found comments on there and some of the things that we'll get into in the future.
00:09:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
i I laughed out loud, like actually laughed out loud.
00:09:19
Raj
a We're definitely going to do a comedy section of stupid things men say, like the whole documentary.
00:09:21
Global Sports Podcast Network
um
00:09:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
Oh yeah.
00:09:26
Raj
We're just going to call it stupid things men say.
00:09:31
Raj
We'll dissect each one of those as well, 100%. Because, yeah, there were some funny ones.
00:09:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
I mean, I'll just, before we go to the first ad break here, come I'm going to give the first, the the one that stands out to me, the one that stands out to me, which isn't relevant to today's episode, but we will speak about, I think it's episode three where we'll go into it, can tell you a bit more.
00:09:44
Raj
They're going to give us one.
00:09:48
Raj
Yes.
00:09:52
Raj
OK.
00:09:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
but they they had originally turned around and said there were just published journal articles of I'm gonna I'm putting my fingers up inverted commas here in speech marks to everyone that's listening health research health research that said um that it's too dangerous for women to play because it's dangerous for their wombs and their ovaries
00:10:29
Global Sports Podcast Network
I never, in a million years, put that documentary on and expected to hear that. ah She's like, what?
00:10:35
Raj
the Every time you tell me that I lose my...
00:10:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
Stentific research, published journal papers.
00:10:52
Raj
Saying that the other day when I was playing football, I don't know, I might have had a roommate. I think like it could have been...
00:11:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think that's just called being a woman and that happens a lot to be honest.
00:11:02
Raj
but
00:11:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
You know?
00:11:09
Raj
As a who hasn't got a womb, how can you say that?
00:11:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
I know.
00:11:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
I can't. Do you know what? We're gonna go to ad break now.
00:11:23
Raj
i Yeah, let's have a break.
00:11:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
Let's have a quick break and ponder on that one before we move on.
00:11:29
Raj
Let me compose myself.
00:11:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
The Global Sports Podcast Network is changing the face of football podcasts with dedicated daily content for every Premier League team, women's football, fancy football and a daily Premier League wrap-up broadcasted in five different languages.
00:11:36
Raj
um
00:11:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
This is your one-stop shop for your daily football fix. Find GSPN wherever you find your usual podcasts.
00:11:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
so right now that we've got got over that yeah um we're gonna have a great episode when we talk about that yeah um so i think the erasure or the erasure whatever the word is um of this tournament in history is enough
00:11:58
Raj
Whoo, calm down. Yeah, all good.
00:12:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
to make a statement, isn't it? you know The erasure of women's history, like, for example, the disappearance of COVID-17 and the way it's created the long-term barriers for recognition and respect and growth in women's football,
00:12:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And the burying of the footage to start with of what was a huge tournament um and the societal attitudes, you know the lack of institutional support and the way that male football is dominated in its leadership. you know This footage that was released on this documentary was the first time it had been released, if you like, since 1971. It was deliberately hidden, buried away um for a whole variety of reasons.
00:13:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
But there was this whole consensus around FIFA at the time where you there were no women in FIFA, there were no women in the football federations, it just didn't exist.
00:13:19
Raj
no
00:13:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
um They described it, what I should have written it down. The FIFA president at the time had described football or women playing football as a as comedy, of both um is as it both being erotic and comedic entertainment.
00:13:40
Raj
Oh, yeah. And just that sums up in a sentence that then you can imagine what these players went through had fighting to to play in this tournament. So if that's what the FIFA president at that time thought, that gives you a small insight into the fight that they had coming up to be able to participate in this tournament and be taken seriously. Just that. And that is harrowing.
00:14:24
Raj
and
Reclaiming Women's Football Legacy
00:14:25
Raj
It's really upsetting. And I don't know if it's because he believed that or he was scared of the energy that women's football created because it was massive before the ban, it was getting big. um And basically around 1917, you had around a hundred clubs and them numbers were only increasing um is what the documentary tells us is and is what we know of history. and And then obviously the reports from doctors and things like that started getting publishing
00:15:06
Raj
published when they said about a it being bad for women's wombs and ovaries. and did they I think they just other he and FIFA just piggybacked onto that and used it as a great time because they didn't want it overtaking men's football and they didn't want it overshadowing men's football because of their own misogynistic views to say, oh, well, yeah.
00:15:34
Raj
This can't be played because of this.
00:15:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
100% and it's that lost legacy now and actually you can always say in hindsight and whatever else but there's no doubt that the how's the best way to say this
00:15:40
Raj
Lost.
00:15:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
pushback and the delay on progression of women's football because of this you know we're talking 71 here and you know was this promoted was this accepted for it was and it wasn't hidden you can only wonder where we might be at now because this is delayed so much
00:15:57
Raj
With the buried footage, yeah.
00:16:13
Raj
wonder, but it's it makes me angry. It makes me frustrated because I think, okay, 71. That's not long um before my eldest sister was born. And for my eldest sister to even be remotely interested in football would have been an absolute sin, right?
00:16:40
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm.
00:16:41
Raj
had she had grown up she was born in 77 knowing that there'd been a whole women's world cup played in Mexico and 110,000 people were in attendance like the kids of that the female of that generation would have had the confidence to say they would have had role models. They would have had something to aspire to. They would have had dreams and ambitions because they would have known that it would have happened. But then all they knew was men were playing it. It's a men's game. It's a men's sport. Women don't do that. It could have started ages ago. We grew up, even I grew up and thinking that
00:17:32
Raj
There's no place for me in football because I just grew up surrounded by men's teams.
00:17:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
time.
00:17:38
Raj
David Beckham, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love and adore David Beckham. But it was, I was only allowed to idolize him. I couldn't be like, or I was laughed at if I said, oh, I want to play football like David Beckham because it wasn't a thing.
00:17:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:17:55
Raj
How do I know about this?
00:17:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, exactly.
00:17:57
Raj
What a story. gray
00:17:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
What I would say is, you know, firstly, there's the loss of somewhat role models and what future generations could have had. Like you said, that's what I was going to go on to say because they were hidden during that time.
00:18:09
Raj
Yeah.
00:18:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
But, you know, you say about, you know, you grew up in a place during a time where you don't feel like it was a place for your football. I too was like that. And I think it's fair to say the the growth of football. like I can't say 10 years because I still don't think it's been over the last 10 years.
00:18:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think women's football has been the last sort of five or six years where it's really become so rapidly progressed.
00:18:31
Raj
the
00:18:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
And there is, I don't think now, there are still there limits and there are barriers, but not it's not to the same extent anymore, wearing girls can a lot more now feel like football is normal for them to do.
00:18:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
However, someone like myself or like you, I would say it bluntly as it is, my job, my career, what I fight for in coaching, that I still don't feel like there's a place in that for me.
00:18:56
Raj
No, no. And you're an imposter and that is the exact word for it.
00:18:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
I'm an imposter there.
00:19:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yep.
00:19:04
Raj
And that's what these women within the documentary went through because they were playing on the big stage. This was their careers. This was everything that they wanted to do.
00:19:17
Raj
So obviously, They were all coached by men. There would never have been female coaches or anything like that. But had that had been seen, the footage not been hidden, the idols were able to kind of come out. The women's game, where the women's game is now, sorry,
00:19:38
Raj
lost my train of thought but where the opportunity is for female players now that would have been done ages ago we would have been there ages ago and maybe the female coaching side of it which is what you're doing what I want to get into that would be way ahead and where it should be now because the play inside would have been we wouldn't have had the band for 50 years it wouldn't have had a 50 year delay we would be where we need to be so
00:19:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yep.
00:20:07
Raj
it would be getting the coaches through.
00:20:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Everything would be a lot further along the, along the timeline and in essence, wouldn't it? And it's really interesting because we talk about the role models here. And like I say, football, playing football is, we're getting there,
Personal Experiences and Cultural Restrictions
00:20:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
we're getting somewhere, but we're talking about coaching here and how It's so easy for me to come back to coaching all the time. but It really is an area of the game that's still not progressed in any shape or form how it should have. And i don' I don't think I've even got around to telling you about this yet. it's just totally I totally forgot it's just reminded me. So last weekend at our goal.
00:20:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
I ran some coaching sessions um as part of like a kid's birthday thing. I had to do some coaching sessions. and So I had to spend the morning with them setting up everything. The birthday boy, lovely lad, like it was only I think he was nine on um for his birthday, so lovely, family were lovely, whatever. I had to spend the morning explaining what was going on, help them set up, tell them about how the day was going to be, etc, etc.
00:21:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
and We had to walk from the stadium to the training facility. It's like two minutes round the back of the stadium attached to it. And I'm walking them over there. all All of his friends have turned up ready for the coaching session to start the day sort of thing. And something gets said. And I was talking to his parents about a little bit of my research and that. And one of the kids turned around to me and said, is the coach going to be over there already?
00:21:43
Raj
Oh, I kind of.
00:21:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
And I said, well and i tell I said, what do you mean?
00:21:49
Raj
Oh.
00:21:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
out I said, what do you mean? And he was like, where's the man? And I was like, of I was like, no, I'm your coach today.
00:21:53
Raj
yeah
00:21:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
And they were like, oh, you're the coach and his parents, Tara went, yeah, kind of thing.
00:22:03
Raj
Oh.
00:22:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think the mortified that he'd said it.
00:22:04
Raj
Oh. didnt
00:22:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
And do you know what? I don't even don't even hold it against kids because it's what's it's the culture that's drilled into them.
00:22:14
Raj
They kind of don't know any different.
00:22:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
No.
00:22:17
Raj
They kind of don't know any different.
00:22:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And then it even carried on and got worse that day. I didn't think it could, but it did. where in um Once we were down at the pictures and ah the boys were like putting their boots on and stuff, I overheard one of the parents saying something.
00:22:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
like They'd only just turned up there. They hadn't actually had to see me at that day, one of these other parents. a dad, obviously, speaking to another dad, and they they needed to catch me or the coach about something to do with their child before the session started.
00:22:45
Global Sports Podcast Network
And I overheard women going, oh, where's the coach? And one of them said something about me. And, oh, that's not going to be the coach, is it? And I was just, you know, and I'm just I just stood there like, well, I'm not just wearing my Plymouth Argyle coach wear for no reason, you know, not just stand there, look pretty, you know,
00:23:00
Raj
Yeah, you are. You're just standing there to look, you're modeling it. I hope you had your hair down.
00:23:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, but yeah, it's just proof in the pudding. We are gonna have to get an outbreak though, unfortunately.
00:23:11
Raj
that That's God good, because I was about to go on a rant. Let's have an ad break. Here at Global Sports Podcast Network, we spent a lot of time selecting our delivery platform. Zenkaster came out the clear winner.
00:23:30
Raj
With 4K video recording from your phone and AI editing that automatically removes all the arms and arms, it's super easy to start a podcast that sounds great and is delivered efficiently. If you're ready to tell your story, check out the link in the show description to learn more about Zencaster.
00:23:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
So I think, moving on quite nicely, it's kind of that reflection of the...
00:23:50
Raj
Before we move on, in defense for the boy,
00:23:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
Go on.
00:23:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:23:56
Raj
That's obviously, it's learned behavior, isn't it?
00:23:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
It's like behaviour, it's societal normalisation.
00:24:03
Raj
Yeah. So, yeah.
00:24:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
ah I'd like to say I didn't hold it against the kid for one moment, so I said it got worst.
00:24:08
Raj
No, exactly. Yeah.
00:24:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
when I overheard what one of the dads said and I was just like you know in those moments I'm more ah I'm just I'm never offended I'm like do you want to come do it instead like do you have the qualifications you know what I mean honestly um but yeah it's
00:24:12
Raj
Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:21
Raj
yeah Oh, God. I wish you'd said that. You would have gone, oh, my back, my back.
00:24:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
a
00:24:33
Raj
Right, anyway, let's move on.
00:24:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, I think, yeah, we move on quite nicely, to be fair. It's kind of just reflecting this now this narrative and, you know, as we go on through the series, it's just a learning from COPA 71 and what the story of COPA 71 can mean for women's football today.
00:24:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And it's kind of reclaiming the past to inspire the future as cheesy as that sounds. um
00:24:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
telling the story of COPPA and understanding the struggles, the challenges there and what we see and actually how unfortunately the main point of this last segment is to reiterate that as we will, like I say, discuss in the future episodes, so much of it still sits underlying or very directly there. A lot of it hasn't changed. We still At this point, all we've seen is the releasing of this footage that was initially hidden because of the systemic horrible biases and opinions of it and how it should and shouldn't be.
00:25:28
Raj
Well.
00:25:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
And actually, we've developed the women's game. It's become somewhat more acceptable and it's slowly being given them the push and allowed the progress.
00:25:45
Global Sports Podcast Network
But how often do we still talk about half of these these issues societally and systemically now?
00:25:53
Raj
Exactly. And that was unfortunately my thoughts throughout the whole of watching watching the documentary, thinking, oh, that still happens. Oh, that still happens. Oh, that hasn't changed.
00:26:08
Raj
um oh And there was one of the things that really stood out to me um that one of the players said, um with Carol Wilson, an ex-England player,
00:26:22
Raj
um she just said all through school ah we were never about allowed to play football it was always hockey or netball and that's one of the things that really sat with me.
00:26:35
Raj
um I didn't go to school that long ago and we weren't allowed to play football all we had to choose between hockey and netball and she's talking about she went to school in the 1970s
00:26:41
Global Sports Podcast Network
No.
00:26:49
Raj
So what well, it would have been before that because the World Cup was played in the 1970s, it would have been the 1960s. So just
00:26:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
What year did you go to school, Raj?
00:27:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
my um my ah My quick maths isn't there today, but I would have been, as you were finishing almost, I think. No, I wouldn't know. I would have been somewhere around 2007 to about 2018 and same.
00:27:26
Raj
That's disgusting.
00:27:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mm-hmm.
00:27:29
Raj
it's It's insane, isn't it?
00:27:33
Raj
It's, oh, I don't know. I just, that's what I mean.
00:27:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
It never changes.
00:27:39
Raj
And and it's literally just, it's just sad. um Basically, um there's one there's one player, um Sylvia Zaragoza, ah she's from Mexico.
00:27:56
Raj
ah She said playing football was where she felt free for the first time. She spent her childhood playing football in the streets. ah She loved the game and when you play it basically just feels like a joy. We know the exact feeling that she's talking about because that is exactly how football makes her feel. and She said so when her dad came home she had to stop playing football um And if he did if she didn't stop, he would scream at her or hit her and because he basically believed that that's not how women were meant to behave and that women were created to sit and stay at home, worry exact words.
00:28:36
Raj
and So basically she'd play in secret, climb on the roof, jump across the house next door, and just so she could keep playing.
00:28:43
Global Sports Podcast Network
Mmhmm. Mmhmm.
00:28:46
Raj
And she thought that she that basically um that that that was going to be alive in the only way that she'd be able to play football. And do you know, ah watching that, exactly what it reminds me of, because she said she'd claim secret and jump over.
00:29:02
Raj
What does that remind you of? Can you think?
00:29:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
Come on.
00:29:07
Raj
Bend it like Beckham.
00:29:08
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:29:09
Raj
She has to chuck her kit in the bush and then come on.
00:29:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
00:29:15
Raj
And she pretended she was going to, um she but she pretend she couldn't go to the temple on Sunday with them because she pretended she had a cold.
00:29:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
yeah
00:29:22
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah.
00:29:23
Raj
Soon as her family left for the temple, she got out of her robe, got her couch.
00:29:26
Global Sports Podcast Network
Do you know what? I love that film. I haven't watched it in a while. I definitely need to watch it. But for everyone just for future reference, we will.
00:29:33
Raj
We have to watch that together.
00:29:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
Raj literally, I think, could recall every line of film in her sleep.
00:29:42
Raj
It's literally my life in a film.
00:29:46
Global Sports Podcast Network
But to be fair, like we are, again, unfortunately coming
Emotional Resonance and Personal Struggles
00:29:49
Global Sports Podcast Network
to the end of time, but we're kind of...
00:29:50
Raj
no oh
00:29:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
we are We'll end on this question, kind of, you know, I know I'm going to say straight away, what can we learn about the future of women's football by, you know, finally honouring its forgotten history? We come straight back, like we've already discussed today, and we'll continue on in the next episodes.
00:30:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
about how there's so many things that happen then ah that still happen now. Do you know what? I could get emotional speaking about this because this this documentary and everything that underruns it, like I'm about to say, it it was so representative. It felt like I was living my own life and I'm not from that generation. And that's the sad thing about it. And like i say as a child growing up it was that feeling you felt I did I felt like an imposter I felt like I was doing what I loved but I was all on my own because there's no one else that did it no other girls did what I did not until I was a little bit older anyway
00:30:47
Raj
I mean Mm
00:30:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
All of my counterparts were male, were the lads all the time.
00:30:52
Raj
-hmm
00:30:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
The things that used to get said to me, I got so much stick for it. You know, I always used to... Oh, I don't even know if we were allowed to say it on a park.
00:31:00
Raj
Are you actually a girl? What do you play for?
00:31:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
Are you a girl? Yeah. Or gay all the time was another one.
00:31:03
Raj
who
00:31:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
Like, I probably shouldn't say it on the podcast, but you know, that's what you used to get for it.
00:31:09
Raj
but umity you suddenly thought We had to live it.
00:31:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
It was awful.
00:31:13
Raj
We had to live it and just read.
00:31:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
Exactly. As like a five-year-old, I get a grip. Like, I'm a five-year-old girl kicking a football.
00:31:19
Raj
Say game. like game It's insane.
00:31:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hmm.
00:31:24
Raj
But we just really quickly touched on that again, like the fact that she was having to hide from her dad and stop playing in the 60s and then Bend It Like Beckham came out late 90s, early 2000s.
00:31:35
Global Sports Podcast Network
o Still wasn't much change in those 30 years, was there?
00:31:38
Raj
strange Not parents mentality of different cultures.
00:31:41
Global Sports Podcast Network
Nope.
00:31:42
Raj
She was of Mexican culture, Bend It Like Beckham's Indian culture, like had The footage, again, going back to the main part of the podcast, had the footage been released, would we have been having to do that? Or would have other cultures been more accepting of it because they've known a World Cup was played in Italy by multiple countries and multiple females. But because that footage was hidden, it wasn't normal. So people were still having to do that 30 years later.
00:32:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, exactly. And it's this, you know, I'll end here, but I, it will forever live with me that what I'm now doing is carving out my career in fighting for this and the equality in this, in this sport and in this space.
00:32:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
particularly in coaching, but I can't tell you how many people, as a child, as ah as a kid, you're all ears to whether or not adults realise it. You hear everything that gets said and it sticks with you. The amount of people in my life that used to say, it's just a phase, you'll grow out of it, it's okay.
00:32:53
Global Sports Podcast Network
And that used to mortify me even as ah as a young kid.
00:32:58
Raj
And I stuck with you. It's literally stuck.
00:33:00
Global Sports Podcast Network
It stuck with me.
00:33:01
Raj
Yeah.
00:33:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. Cause I remember hearing it from multiple people.
00:33:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
Um, but yeah, I mean, I think we've set the, really set the scene here and set a really good, it's been so fun.
00:33:05
Raj
Yeah.
00:33:12
Raj
I'm mix excited. yeah the I just want
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:33:16
Raj
to carry on.
00:33:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
I know.
00:33:17
Raj
But there's more to come. And like we said, if you haven't watched the COPA documentary, please go ahead and watch it. We're going to be covering it. and It's going to be good. It's going to be exciting.
00:33:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
hundredund 100%. So thank you for joining us today on this first episode of the series. um And we look forward to, I think actually I think it's important to clarify that we aim to release this, one of these weekly for this series.
00:33:46
Raj
yeah Yeah, it does.
00:33:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
It normally falls that we record on a Thursday night, don't really speak in. So it's Friday friday morning and a week release.
00:33:52
Raj
Yeah.
00:33:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it's a fair judgment or statement to make on this.
00:33:56
Raj
Yeah.
00:33:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
So look forward to welcoming you.
00:34:00
Raj
Oh,
00:34:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
So this this particular one, gosh, this won't be, this will be the New Year's one now.
00:34:06
Raj
okay.
00:34:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
So start the new year on a bang.
00:34:07
Raj
Let's have it.
00:34:10
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah. Okay. So look forward to welcoming you to that and I will see you later.
00:34:14
Raj
Bye, guys.