The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
competition contested by the senior
women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (
FIFA), the sport's international governing body. The competition has been held every four years and one year after the men's
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
since 1991, when the
inaugural tournament, then called the FIFA Women's World Championship, was held in
China. Under the tournament's current format, national teams vie for 31 slots in a three-year
qualification phase. The host nation's team is automatically entered as the 32nd slot. The tournament, called the ''World Cup Finals'', is contested at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about one month.
The eight FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments have been won by four national teams. 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 territori ...
have won four times, and are the current champions after winning it at the
2019 tournament in France. The other winners are
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 ...
, with two titles, and
Japan 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 the ...
with one title each.
Six countries have hosted the Women's World Cup. China and the United States have each hosted the tournament twice, while Canada, France, Germany, and Sweden have each hosted it once.
Australia and New Zealand will host the competition in
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
, making it the first edition to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first Women's World Cup to be hosted by two countries, and the first FIFA senior competition for either men or women to be held across two confederations.
Format
Qualification
Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), and are organised by their respective confederations:
Confederation of African Football (CAF),
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...
(AFC), Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (
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 language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
), South American Football Confederation (
CONMEBOL),
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and Union of European Football Associations (
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 ...
). For each tournament, FIFA decides beforehand the number of berths awarded to each of the continental zones, based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams. The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth in the finals. With the exception of the UEFA, other confederations organise its qualification campaign throughout continental tournaments. Since the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
, the number of finalists increased from 16 to 24 and now 32.
Final tournament
The final tournament has featured between 12 and 24 national teams competing over about one month in the host nation(s). There are two stages: the group stage followed by the knockout stage.
In the group stage, teams are drawn into groups of four teams each. Each group plays a
round-robin tournament, in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams. In the 2015 24-team format, the two teams finishing first and second in each group and the four best teams among those ranked third qualified for the round of 16, also called the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
,
three points have been awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss (before, winners received two points).
The ranking of each team in each group is determined as follows:
# Greatest number of points in group matches
# Greatest goal difference in group matches
# Greatest number of goals scored in group matches
# If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows:
## Greatest number of points in head-to-head matches among those teams
## Greatest goal difference in head-to-head matches among those teams
## Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head matches among those teams
# If any of the teams above remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots
The knockout stage is a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with
extra time and
penalty shootouts used to decide the winners if necessary. It begins with the round of 16. This is followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, the
third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final.
History
The first instance of a Women's World Cup dates back to
1970 in Italy, with the first tournament of that name taking place in July 1970. This was followed by another unofficial World Cup tournament
in Mexico in 1971, in which
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 = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
won the title after defeating
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, 3–0, in the final at the
Azteca Stadium
Estadio Azteca () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Mexico City. It is the official home of football clubs Club América and Cruz Azul as well as the Mexico national football team. The stadium sits at an altitude of above sea level. Wit ...
. In the 1980s, the
Mundialito was held in Italy across four editions with both
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 ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
winning two titles.
Several countries lifted bans on women's soccer in the 1970s, leading to new teams being established in many countries. After official continental women's tournaments were held
in Asia in 1975 and
Europe in 1984,
Ellen Wille declared that she wanted better effort from the
FIFA Congress
The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of the International Association Football Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by the acronym FIFA . FIFA is the international governing body of ...
in promoting the women's game. This came in the form of the
1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament
The 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament, or International Women's Football Tournament, was organised by FIFA in China from 1 to 12 June 1988. The competition was a test to study if a global women's World Cup was feasible following the experi ...
in China as a test to see if a global women's World Cup was feasible. Twelve national teams took part in the competition – four from
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 ...
, three from
AFC, two from
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 language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...
, and one each from
CONMEBOL,
CAF and
OFC. After the opening match of the tournament between
China and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
was attended by 45,000 people, the tournament was deemed a success, with crowds averaging 20,000.
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 the ...
, who was the
European champion, defeated
Sweden, 1–0, in the final, while
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 ...
clinched third place by beating
the hosts in a penalty shootout. The competition was deemed a success and on 30 June FIFA approved the establishment of an official World Cup, which was to take place in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
again in China. Again, twelve teams competed, this time culminating in 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 territori ...
defeating Norway in the final, 2–1, with
Michelle Akers
Michelle Anne Akers (formerly Akers-Stahl; born February 1, 1966) is an American former soccer player who starred in the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup and 1996 Olympics victories by the United States. At the 1991 World Cup, she won the Golden ...
scoring two goals.
The
1995 edition in Sweden saw the experiment of a time-out concept throughout the tournament which was later tightened mid-tournament to only occur after a break in play. The time-out only appeared in the one tournament which saw it scrapped. The final of the 1995 edition saw Norway, who scored 17 goals in the group stage, defeat Germany, 2–0, to capture their only title.
In the 1999 edition, one of the most famous moments of the tournament was American defender
Brandi Chastain's victory celebration after scoring the Cup-winning
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
against
China. She took off her jersey and waved it over her head (as men frequently do) as she celebrated. The 1999 final in the
Rose Bowl in
Pasadena, California, had an attendance of 90,185.
The 1999 and
2003 Women's World Cups were both held in the United States; in 2003 China was supposed to host it, but the tournament was moved because of
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...
. As compensation, China retained their automatic qualification to the 2003 tournament as host nation, and was automatically chosen to host the
2007 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...
.
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 ...
hosted the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, as decided by vote in October 2007. In March 2011, FIFA awarded
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
the right to host the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
. The 2015 competition saw the field expand from 16 to 24 teams.
During the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
, both
Formiga of
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 ...
and
Homare Sawa
is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or a midfielder. Regarded by many as one of the greatest female footballers of all time and the greatest Asian female footballer of all time, Sawa had a professional club car ...
of
Japan appeared in their record sixth World Cup, a feat that had never been achieved before by either female or male players.
Christie Pearce
Christie Patricia Pearce (formerly Rampone; born June 24, 1975) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender. She is the former captain of the United States national team. Pearce is a three-time Olympic gold medali ...
is the oldest player to ever play in a Women's World Cup match, at the age of 40 years. In March 2015, FIFA awarded
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
the right to host the
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. I ...
over
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
.
In the 2019 edition, which was held in France, the United States won the tournament for the fourth time.
In 2023, Australia and New Zealand will be hosting the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time as joint hosts, and the number of participants will be expanded from 24 to 32. It will be also the first tournament to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. With
Australia and
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 ...
respectively being members of the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...
and
Oceania Football Confederation, this will be the first FIFA senior competition to be hosted across two confederations.
Trophy
The current trophy was designed in 1998 for the 1999 tournament, and takes the form of a spiral band, enclosing a soccer ball at the top, that aims to capture the athleticism, dynamism, and elegance of international women's soccer. In the 2010s, it was fitted with a cone-shaped base. Underneath the base, the name of each of the tournament's previous winners is engraved. The trophy is tall, weighs and is made of sterling silver clad in 23-karat yellow and white gold, with an estimated value in 2015 of approximately $30,000. By contrast, the men's World Cup trophy is fabricated in 18-karat gold and has a precious metal value of $150,000. However, a new Winner's Trophy is constructed for each women's champion to take home, while there is only one original men's trophy which is retained by FIFA with each men's champion taking home a replica trophy.
Since 2007, the winners are also awarded the
FIFA Champions Badge, which is worn on the jerseys of the winning team until the winners of the next tournament has been decided.
Hosts
Attendance
Notes:
* The 2003 Women's World Cup was originally planned to be hosted by China, but was awarded to the United States in May 2003 after a major
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...
outbreak.
* The
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the ...
set a new attendance record for all FIFA competitions besides the men's FIFA World Cup.
Results
;Notes
In all, 36 nations have
played in at least one Women's World Cup. Of those, four nations have won the World Cup. With four titles, the United States is the most successful Women's World Cup team and is one of only seven nations to
play in every World Cup. They have also had the most top four finishes (8), medals (8), and final appearances (5), including the longest streak of three consecutive finals in
2011,
2015, and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.
Teams reaching the top four
:
* = ''hosts''
Best performances by confederations
, four of the six FIFA confederations have made it to a Women's World Cup final, the only exceptions being
CAF (Africa) and the
OFC (Oceania).
CONMEBOL is the only confederation to have made a World Cup final without winning, following
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 ...
's defeat in the
2007 final. The farthest advancing African team was
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 ...
, who were eliminated in the quarter finals in 1999. Oceania has sent two teams,
Australia and
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 ...
, to the World Cup, but Australia did not advance from the group stage until after
the country's football association moved to the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...
, and New Zealand (which remains in the OFC) has never advanced to the knockout rounds.
The United States and Norway are the only teams to have won the tournament in their own confederations, with the U.S. winning in 1999 (at home) and 2015 (in Canada), and Norway in 1995 (in Sweden). The United States are also the only team that has won the tournament in every continent was played: Asia (in 1991), Europe (in 2019) and in North America (in 1999 and in 2015). Germany has won in Asia (in 2007) and in North America (in 2003), Japan has won in Europe (in 2011).
Broadcasting and revenue
, the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final was a women's soccer match that took place on 5 July 2015 at BC Place, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to determine the winner of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. It was played between Japan and the U ...
was the most watched soccer match in American history with nearly 23 million viewers,
more than the
2015 NBA Finals
The 2015 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference
champion Golden State Warriors defeated the Eastern Confe ...
and
Stanley Cup. It was also the most watched Spanish-language broadcast in tournament history.
More than 750 million viewers were reported to have watched the tournament worldwide.
Records and statistics
Boldface indicates a player still playing.
Top goalscorers
![Marta (10), meio-campista, craque, genial, DSC00982](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Marta_%2810%29%2C_meio-campista%2C_craque%2C_genial%2C_DSC00982.jpg)
;Individual
;Country
All-time table for champions
Awards
At the end of each World Cup, awards are presented to select players and teams for accomplishments other than their final team positions in the tournament.
*There are currently five post-tournament awards from the FIFA Technical Study Group:
**the Golden Ball (currently commercially termed "
adidas Golden Ball") for the best overall player of the tournament (first awarded in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
);
**the Golden Boot ((currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Boot", formerly known as the ''Golden Shoe'') for the top goalscorer of the tournament (first awarded in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
);
**the Golden Glove (currently commercially termed "adidas Golden Glove", formerly known as the ''Best Goalkeeper'') for the best goalkeeper of the tournament (first awarded in
2003);
**the FIFA Young Player Award for the best player of the tournament under 21 years of age at the start of the calendar year (first awarded in
2011);
**the FIFA Fair Play Trophy for the team with the best record of fair play during the tournament (first awarded in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
).
*There is currently one award voted on by fans during the tournament:
**the Player of the Match (currently commercially termed "
VISA
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
Player of the Match") for outstanding performance by a player during each match of the tournament (first awarded in
2003).
*There is currently one award voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament:
**the Goal of the Tournament (currently commercially termed "
Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups:
* Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested
** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company
** Hyundai ...
Goal of the Tournament") for the fans' best goal scored during the tournament (first awarded in
2007).
*The following five awards are no longer given:
**the All-Star Squad for the best squad of players of the tournament (chosen by the technical study group, awarded from
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
to
2015);
**the Most Entertaining Team for the team that entertained the fans the most during the tournament (voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament, awarded in
2003 and
2007);
**the FANtasy All-Star Team for the fans' best eleven-player line-up of the tournament (voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament, awarded in
2003);
**the Dream Team for the fans' best manager and eleven-player line-up of the tournament (voted on by fans after the conclusion of the tournament, awarded in
2015);
**the Players Who Dared to Shine for ten key players of the tournament who "dared to shine" (chosen by the technical study group, awarded in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
).
See also
*
FIFA Women's Club World Cup
The FIFA Women's Club World Cup is an international women's association football competition that is proposed by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. , plans for the competition h ...
*
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
*
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament for female players under the age of 17. It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The tournament is held in even-numbered ye ...
References
External links
*
UEFA's page on the FIFA Women's World Cup UEFA.com
at the
RSSSF
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around th ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fifa Women's World Cup
Women's World Cup
Recurring sporting events established in 1991
Women's world championships
Women's
Association football events