The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process saw 48 teams from the six

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

confederations compete for the 12 places in the

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international gove ...

finals. The places were divided as follows: *

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

- represented by CAF: 1 berth *

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

- AFC: 3 (one of those was eventual host

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, who did not qualify automatically) *

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

: 5 *

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

& the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...

: 1 *

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

- OFC: 1 *

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

CONMEBOL The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL, , or CSF; es, Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol; pt, Confederação Sul-Americana de Futebol) is the continental governing body of football in South America (apart from Guyana, Suri ...

: 1 All of the confederations used their regional championship tournament to determine qualification. Hosts

China PR China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

also entered the qualifying process. The first qualification match was played on 9 September 1989 and the qualification concluded on 14 July 1991. A total of 445 goals were scored in the 111 qualifying matches (an average of 4.01 per match). Four teams withdrew during the qualification without playing a match: Congo,

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, all of which are African teams.

Qualified teams

Qualification process

*¹ 8 nations started, but Martinique were not eligible for World Cup qualification, because they are only members of CONCACAF and not FIFA. *² China was selected as host after it qualified to the tournament

Confederation qualification processes

Africa (CAF)

''(8 teams competing for 1 berth)'' ::''Qualified:'' The only African team to qualify to the World Cup was the winner of the

1991 African Women's Championship The 1991 African Women's Championship was the inaugural edition of the currently-named Women's Africa Cup of Nations, invoked to determine Confederation of African Football, CAF's single qualifier for 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, the inaugural ed ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. The eight teams were paired together into two knockout ties. The winners of these ties advanced to the second round, who used the same format as the first round. The final round is a two-leg final between the two winners of the second round. The winner,

qualified to the World Cup and won the tournament by defeating

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

6–0 on aggregate. Final Round

Asia (AFC)

''(9 teams competing for 3 berths)'' ::''Qualified'': – – The

1991 AFC Women's Championship The 1991 AFC Women's Championship was a women's football tournament held in Fukuoka, Japan from 26 May to 8 June 1991. It was the 8th staging of the AFC Women's Championship. The 1991 AFC Women's Championship, consisting of nine teams, served as ...

, consisting of nine teams, served as the AFC's qualifying tournament. The first round was composed of two groups, one of four teams and the other of five. The top two teams of the groups advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the winners advanced to the final and the losers played the third-place match. The winner,

; runners-up,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

; and third place,

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

, qualified to the World Cup. Knockout stage ''China PR, Japan, and Chinese Taipei qualified for the World Cup.''

Europe (UEFA)

''(18 teams competing for 5 berths)'' ::''Qualified:'' – – – – The first official edition of the

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalent ...

served also as

's qualifying tournament for the World Cup. Out of the 18 teams participating in the tournament, the qualifiers were the four semi-finalists—

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

—and the best quarter-final loser,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, who lost their two-leg quarter-final clash against Italy on a single

away goal The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

. The UEFA Women's Championship had held its own qualifying campaign. It began in September 1989, and ended with a final four–style tournament in

, held in July 1991, only four months before the World Cup.

won the tournament by beating

3–1 in

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. Second round *³ Italy won based on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...

and qualified; Sweden qualified for being the best quarter-final loser. Knockout stage ''Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Sweden qualified for the World Cup.''

North, Central America & the Caribbean (CONCACAF)

''(7 teams competing for 1 berth)'' ⁵ ::''Qualified:'' The

1991 CONCACAF's Women's Championship The 1991 CONCACAF Women's Championship was the first staging of the CONCACAF Women's Championship, the international women's association football tournament for North American, Central American and Caribbean nations organized by CONCACAF. The tourn ...

, despite being an unofficial competition, determined the

's single qualifier for the World Cup – the winner, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The tournament took place in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

in April 1991 and consisted of 8 teams. Knockout Stage *⁵Martinique were not members of FIFA ''United States qualified for the World Cup.''

Oceania (OFC)

''(3 teams competing for 1 berth)'' ::''Qualified:'' Only three teams participated in the tournament which took place in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in May 1991:

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The teams played in a

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...

in which each team played 2 matches against each opponent, with the first placed team qualifying. The competition was eventually decided through goal-difference, as the matches between

and

ended with one win to each side, and both teams won all matches against

. Final standings

South America (CONMEBOL)

''(3 teams competing for 1 berth)'' ::''Qualified:'' The first edition of the

Sudamericano Femenino The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American a ...

(Women's South American Championship), held in April–May 1991 determined

's qualifier. The host of the tournament

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

won the tournament and with it the right to represent South America in the World Cup. Final standings ''Brazil qualified for the World Cup.''

External links

Tables & results
at RSSSF.com {{FIFA Women's World Cup

Qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

FIFA Women's World Cup qualification