Feature length documentary, The Corinthians: We Were The Champions, from Manchester production company Films Not Words, has been acquired by the BBC and will air on BBC Four and iPlayer on Tuesday 19th May at 10pm.
The Corinthians Ladies FC are the globetrotting champions of women’s football that history forgot: Banned from playing the Beautiful Game by The FA – who declared it “quite unsuitable for females” from 1921 to 1971 – these groundbreaking girls from Manchester defied the rules to win worldwide trophies.
The 90-minute film, told entirely in the words of 10 surviving Corinthians players, not only shines a light on the huge international success of the banned team, it has enacted real and lasting change.
The film premiered at Manchester’s HOME earlier this year, where it experienced a sell out run, followed by screenings at The Light’s 14 national cinemas. The film won Best of The Fest (Feature) at NEIFF, Best Documentary at the Northampton Film Festival and has been selected for the prestigious Krakow Film Festival in June.
Since the premiere, The Football Association has made a public apology for the ban and Greater Manchester Mayor/aspiring PM Andy Burnham has pledged to build a statue to the team in Manchester, plans for which are already under way.
Last week, The Corinthians were given a Special Recognition award at the Women’s Football Awards, from Gabby Logan, Carol Vorderman and Jamie Caragher, for being “the most pioneering team in the history of women’s football.”
There are also discussions underway to start a ‘Corinthians Charter’ of equal access to football pitches in Greater Manchester for girls and boys.
“The film really makes me see how what we did was a cornerstone for developing women’s football,” says former Corinthian Monica Curran. “It lays down an important historical marker. I am so pleased to see it getting out there at last.”
“The Corinthians Ladies FC were one of the best women’s teams this country ever produced, so we are absolutely thrilled that their story is now being shown on the BBC, where the whole nation can watch their inspiring story,” said the film’s director Helen Tither. “For the film to be screened on BBC Four is a real moment of pride for all the Corinthians involved, as well as the crew.
“The reaction to the film in cinemas has been unbelievable, from The FA apology, to all the emotional feedback we have had from audiences in awe of these pioneering players. We’ve had so many people tell us their daughters watched it and signed up to a football team as a result!
“We always hoped the film would get a national TV audience, so we are delighted that the Corinthians’ amazing story will be available for everyone to see. It’s a real testament to the players themselves, brilliant and inspiring women who have won the hearts of everyone who has seen the film.”
The first women’s team to tour South America in 1960, they beat Germany to an unofficial European Cup in 1957, triumphed over Juventus to bag a cup in Europe in 1970, and have been named as “one of the most successful women’s teams the UK ever had” by the National Football Museum. Yet their story has been all but forgotten.
Now, more than 70 years after their team was established, the team being dubbed “the original rebel girls of football” will finally see their names in lights as The Corinthians: We Were The Champions, is being screened on BBC FOUR on Tuesday May 19th, 10pm and catch up on iPlayer.
This first feature-length documentary to reveal the team’s amazing real life David Vs Goliath story has been made by Manchester-based production company Films Not Words. Told exclusively by 10 surviving players, it features a soundtrack from Manchester punk act Loose Articles and never-seen-before archive.
After three years in production, the film’s broadcast on BBC FOUR is a huge moment for the Corinthians players and their families who have spent decades fighting for recognition.
In the film, The Corinthians are represented by 10 of the team’s players: Myra Lypnyckyj, Anne Grimes, Pauline Hulme, Marlene Cook, Freda Ashton, Monica Curran, Margaret ‘Whit’ Whitworth, Jean Wilson, Jan Lyons and Margaret ‘Tiny’ Shepherd. They are fast becoming celebrities, with standing ovations wherever they appear to talk about the documentary.
Hailed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as Manchester’s “football suffragettes,” The Corinthians Ladies FC were pioneers of the women’s game. They set up their team in 1949 at the height of The Football Association’s ban on women’s football, and after a 21-year struggle to be allowed to play, survived to become one of the founding teams of the Women’s FA.
Like many Manchester teams, The Corinthians were champions, but with no facilities, no other teams to play, and banned from pitches in the UK, they took their incredible show on the road where they drew huge crowds in massive stadiums including Sporting Lisbon. Amongst many firsts and victories, The Corinthians beat Germany to a European Cup in 1957, and became the first women’s team to tour South America in 1960.
The FA ban was put in place after women’s football became popular during WW1 drawing crowds of up to 50,000 and lasted from 1921 to 1971, and The Corinthians’ talent and resilience were instrumental in beating the ban, as their popularity and success led to other women’s teams sparking up around the world until finally they could no longer be ignored.
Produced and directed by BAFTA winner Tither, the documentary has been three years in the making and is packed with never-seen-before archive footage, a specially commissioned Corinthians comic strip, and exclusive interviews with the 10 surviving players. The all-female soundtrack is provided by Manchester punk band Loose Articles, composer Sara Lowes and billion-streaming pianist Helen Jane Long.
Backed by the National Football Museum – who have no other films of women talking about playing during the ban in their archive – and supported by Lioness and Manchester United star Ella Toone, the film has been a real labour of love for the production team. Despite initially being told women’s football was “too niche” they started making the film anyway, working with surviving players and families of Corinthians no longer with us.
