Red carpet rolled out for The Corinthians Ladies FC legends

As reported in The Bolton News the football team which was founded by a Bolton legend Percy Ashley inspired a film which has been showing at The Light Cinema in Market Place.

The footballing legends walked the red carpet for a special screening of the film in Bolton.

The team, The Corinthians Ladies FC stood up to the might of The FA’s 50-year ban on women playing the sport to become global champions. 

A red carpet-style screening took place in Bolton, for the award-winning documentary.

The Corinthians: We Were The Champions was shown at The Light cinema in Market Place Shopping Centre with a special VIP event featuring a green, football-themed carpet, a post-film Q&As, and appearances by former players, the director and guests.

The screening followed a successful earlier run in Bolton, where the film prompted what organisers described as an “outpouring of pride” for the team’s founder, Percy, and his daughter Doris.

Filmmakers said the reaction was sparked in part by local coverage in The Bolton News celebrating the pair’s Bolton roots, which led them to organise a return event focused on their legacy.

Directed by Helen Tither of Manchester-based production company Films Not Words, the documentary tells the story of Corinthians Ladies FC, a team formed in 1949 at a time when women’s football was banned by The Football Association.

Despite the ban, which ran from 1921 to 1971, Percy Ashley – a former Bolton Wanderers scout – established the team so his daughter Doris could play, going on to train a squad that achieved major success both in the UK and abroad.

The team later beat Germany to win an unofficial European Cup in 1957 and defeated Juventus in 1970 and has since been described by the National Football Museum as one of the most successful women’s teams the country has seen.

The film, told entirely in the words of 10 surviving players including Myra Lypnyckyj, Anne Grimes, Pauline Hulme, Marlene Cook, Freda Ashton, Monica Curran, Margaret ‘Whit’ Whitworth, Jean Wilson, Jan Lyons and Margaret ‘Tiny’ Shepherd, combines archive footage, animation and a punk-inspired soundtrack to bring their story to life.

L – R Players Margaret ‘Tiny’ Shepherd, Margaret ‘Whit’ Whitworth, Myra Lypnyckyj, Marlene Cook and filmmaker Helen Tither (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)

Speaking to The Bolton News on the night, Marlene, 84, from Denton, said: “I played for the Corinthians from 1957 until 1963.

“I went to Portugal, Italy, South America and finished up in Jamaica. We went on 29 planes starting from Venezuela and going all around the Caribbean.

“I always played football with my brother. We saw it [the team] advertised and I went along. He said, ‘Can you kick a ball?’, and that was it, I was in.”

Myra , 90, from Stockport, said: “It was brilliant. I joined in 1954 and went to Portugal twice, Madeira, Germany, Holland and the Isle of Man.

“It all started when I was playing table tennis and a guy came to the door and said that one of his table tennis players was ill and would I mind filling in.

“I went to the WCA and met a girl called Ann Robinson who ran the table tennis team. She told me that she played on a woman’s football team, I told her it sounded interesting and asked to go along.

“She took me with her that Sunday, I spoke to the manager and he said he’ll see how I shape. I must have shaped ok because I was in.”

“It was lovely and I’d do it all again tomorrow.

Margaret, 80, originally from Fallowfield, added: “I started playing when I was 12 in 1958.

“I went to Holland first with the team as I was too young, just to get a bit of experience with them.

“Then when I was 14, we went to South America for three months, then Italy, Tunisa, France.

“It was a fantastic time and I loved every minute of it. I just started playing with the lads when I was young, I’ve always liked football.

“My family are big football supporters so I’ve been born into it. It’s sad when you think I want to do it all again but I can’t!”

Margaret, 79, from Tyldesley, said: “I was Margaret Taylor when I played and was nicknamed ‘Tiny Taylor’.

“I started with the team in 1967 purely by accident. I met a girl playing netball for the civil service and we had a kick about at half time.

“She asked if I played football and I said, ‘No – women don’t play football’. She said, ‘Oh yes they do, I play!’

“She took me along one Sunday and I never looked back. I was very fortunate to get to France to win the European cup against Juventus.”

The Corinthians with players from Bolton Wanders LFC (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)

Helen said the response in Bolton had been particularly significant.

She said: “We were really blown away by the response to the film in Bolton and how proud people were to have this Boltonian legend at the centre of the film.

“On the day our film has its first national screenings, we wanted to make the Bolton event extra special.

“Percy Ashley was what we would call a true ‘male ally’ these days.

“He founded a women’s football team against all odds, defying the establishment to help his amazing footballer daughter, Doris, play the game she loved.

“Today they are recognised as one of the greatest women’s football teams this country has ever had.

“Unfortunately, Percy and Doris never lived to see the historic apology their story has sparked from The FA, but we want to keep the memory of his contribution alive.”

Percy’s great granddaughters, Alison Norris and Karen Martin were also at the Bolton screening.

Alison said: “We’ve been involved with the Corinthian’s and the making of the film since the beginning.

“Before that, during the Women’s Euro’s in 2022, I saw a mention of Percy Ashley and thought, ‘that’s my relative, what’s his name doing there?’.

“That’s how it all started. I met ‘Tiny’ at one of the Euro games and then she told me what they were trying to do with the film.

“Doris was our great aunt and she didn’t talk about it. We knew there was a connection but we didn’t have clue to what extent.

“I can’t believe what they [the filmmakers] found out and that we can see Percy on screen – that’s amazing.”

Karen said: “I’m really excited to come and be able to see the film as I was away for the premiere.

“It’s phenomenal what they all did. The sad thing is that no-one really seems to know about it, it seems to be a secret almost.

“The story is an amazing, fantastic one. There’s nothing better than a true story and what the achieved at that time and travelling abroad as women was phenomenal.”  

Percy’s great granddaughters, Alison Norris (R) and Karen Martin (Image: Lisa Valentine – Newsquest)

The film has also drawn national attention for its role in prompting an apology from The Football Association for the historic ban on women’s football, after early screenings at HOME in Manchester led to a public campaign backed by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

In a statement, the FA said: “Manchester Corinthians Ladies FC were pioneers of women’s football.

The pics of the team in South America with the plane has Percy on the left and Doris is five people along to the right wearing a flowery dress. (Image: Films Not Words)

Through their unwavering spirit, talent and determination, they blazed a trail for women’s football around the world.

The pic of the team in Portugal has Percy centre, Doris is front row centre, blond hair and white top with the ball. (Image: Films Not Words)

“We are sorry that a ban on women’s football was introduced in 1921 and not revoked until 1971.

“We recognise the courage of the teams and individuals who continued to play the game during this period.”

The documentary has won Best of The Fest (Feature) at NEIFF and Best Documentary at the Northampton Film Festival and had its London premiere at the Women in Film & TV Festival in Covent Garden.

Marlene Cook playing for the Corinthians abroad (centre right) (Image: Marlene Cook)

Supported by the National Football Museum and backed by England and Manchester United player Ella Toone, the project was funded through crowdfunding, along with sponsorship from BT Group and Tech Mahindra.

The Bolton screening also marked the film’s first nationwide release, with showings planned at 14 Light cinemas across the country.