Dames Of Two Halves

DEFIEID AUTHORITY TO BECOME FOOTIE LEGENDS

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THEY are the women's football team that would not take no for an answer, players who loved the game so much they defied an FA ban to beat Germany in an unofficial European Cup.

Hailed by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the city's "football suffragettes", The Corinthians Ladies FC were trailblazers of the women's game.

Yet the story of these sporting rebels had been largely forgotten.

Now a group of filmmakers are bringing their glorious past to the big screen, with The Corinthians: We Were The Champions getting its cinema premiere tonight.

And walking the red carpet in their city of origin will be some of the players themselves - now aged from 70 to 90.

Former Corinthian Monica Curran says: "The film really makes me see how what we did was a cornerstone for developing women's football.

"It lays down an important historical marker. I am so pleased to see it getting out there into cinemas at last."

The Corinthians Ladies FC were globetrotting champions of women's football.

The women's game became popular during World War One, drawing crowds of up to 50,000.