FIFA Women's World Cup

The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football 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 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.

FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy
Organising bodyFIFA
Founded1991 (1991)
RegionInternational
Number of teams32 (finals)
Related competitionsFIFA World Cup
Current champions United States
(4th title)
Most successful team(s) United States
(4 titles)
Television broadcastersList of broadcasters
Websitefifa.com/womensworldcup
2023 qualification
United States, the current world champions
Tournaments

The eight FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments have been won by four national teams. The United States have won four times, and are the current champions after winning it at the 2019 tournament in France. The other winners are Germany, with two titles, and Japan and Norway 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, making it the first edition to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, and the first Women's World Cup to be hosted by two countries.

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 (AFC), Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 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 number of finalists increased from 16 to 24 and now 32.[1]

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.[2]

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, 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:[2]

  1. Greatest number of points in group matches
  2. Greatest goal difference in group matches
  3. Greatest number of goals scored in group matches
  4. If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows:
    1. Greatest number of points in head-to-head matches among those teams
    2. Greatest goal difference in head-to-head matches among those teams
    3. Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head matches among those teams
  5. 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 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.[2]

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.[3] This was followed by another unofficial World Cup tournament in Mexico in 1971, in which Denmark won the title after defeating Mexico, 3–0, in the final at the Azteca Stadium.[4][5][6] In the 1980s, the Mundialito was held in Italy across four editions with both Italy and England winning two titles.[7]

Several countries lifted bans on women's football in the 1970s, leading to new teams being established in many countries. After official continental women's tournaments were held in Asia in 1975[8] and Europe in 1984, Ellen Wille declared that she wanted better effort from the FIFA Congress in promoting the women's game.[9] This came in the form of the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament 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, three from AFC, two from CONCACAF, and one each from CONMEBOL, CAF and OFC. After the opening match of the tournament between China and Canada was attended by 45,000 people, the tournament was deemed a success, with crowds averaging 20,000. Norway, who was the European champion, defeated Sweden, 1–0, in the final, while Brazil clinched third place by beating the hosts in a penalty shootout.[10] 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 again in China. Again, twelve teams competed, this time culminating in the United States defeating Norway in the final, 2–1, with Michelle Akers scoring two goals.[11]

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.[12] 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 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.[13]

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.[14] 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. Germany hosted the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, as decided by vote in October 2007. In March 2011, FIFA awarded Canada the right to host the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The 2015 competition saw the field expand from 16 to 24 teams.[15]

During the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, both Formiga of Brazil and Homare Sawa of Japan appeared in their record sixth World Cup,[16] a feat that had never been achieved before by either female or male players. Christie Pearce is the oldest player to ever play in a Women's World Cup match, at the age of 40 years.[17] In March 2015, FIFA awarded France the right to host the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup over South Korea.[18]

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 double hosts and the teams will be expanded from 24 to 32. It will be also the first tournament to be held in the Southern Hemisphere.

Trophy

The current trophy was designed in 1998 for the 1999 tournament, and takes the form of a spiral band, enclosing a football at the top, that aims to capture the athleticism, dynamism, and elegance of international women's football. 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.[19] The trophy is 47 cm (19 in) tall, weighs 4.6 kg (10 lb) 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.[20]

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.[21]

Hosts
Total times teams hosted by confederation
Confederations and years italicized & in bold have an upcoming competition.
Confederation Total (Hosts) Years
AFC 3 1991, 2007, & 2023
CAF 0  
CONCACAF 3 1999, 2003, & 2015
CONMEBOL 0  
OFC 1 2023
UEFA 3 1995, 2011, & 2019

Attendance
Year Hosts Venues/Cities Matches Attendance Notes
Total Average Highest
1991  China 6/4 26 510,000 18,344 65,000 [22]
1995  Sweden 5/5 112,213 4,316 17,158 [22]
1999  United States 8/8 32 1,214,209 37,944 90,185 [22]
2003 6/6 679,664 21,240 34,144 [22]
2007  China 5/5 1,190,971 37,218 55,832 [22]
2011  Germany 9/9 845,751 26,430 73,680 [22]
2015  Canada 6/6 52 1,353,506 26,029 54,027 [22][23]
2019  France 9/9 1,131,312 21,756 57,900 [24]
2023  Australia
 New Zealand		 10/9 64 TBA TBA TBA

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 outbreak.
  • The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup set a new attendance record for all FIFA competitions besides the men's FIFA World Cup.[23]

Results
Keys
Ed. Year Host First place game Third place game Num.
teams
Champion Score Runner-up Third Score Fourth
1 1991   China
United States		 2–1
Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
Norway
Sweden		 4–0
Provincial Stadium, Guangzhou
Germany		 12
2 1995   Sweden
Norway		 2–0
Råsunda Stadium, Solna
Germany
United States		 2–0
Strömvallen, Gävle
China		 12
3 1999   United States
United States		 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
Rose Bowl, Pasadena
China
Brazil		 0–0 [n 1]
(5–4 p)
Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Norway		 16
4 2003   United States
Germany		 2–1 (a.e.t.)
Home Depot Center, Carson
Sweden
United States		 3–1
Home Depot Center, Carson
Canada		 16
5 2007   China
Germany		 2–0
Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai
Brazil
United States		 4–1
Hongkou Stadium, Shanghai
Norway		 16
6 2011   Germany
Japan		 2–2 (a.e.t.)
(3–1 p)
Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt
United States
Sweden		 2–1
Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
France		 16
7 2015   Canada
United States		 5–2
BC Place, Vancouver
Japan
England		 1–0 (a.e.t.)
Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
Germany		 24
8 2019   France
United States		 2–0
Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon
Netherlands
Sweden		 2–1
Allianz Riviera, Nice
England		 24
9 2023   Australia
  New Zealand		 TBD TBD
Stadium Australia, Sydney 		TBD TBD TBD
Lang Park, Brisbane 		TBD 32
Notes
  1. No extra time was played.[25]

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.

Map of countries' best results

Teams reaching the top four
Teams reaching the top four
Team Titles Runners-up Third place Fourth place Total
 United States 4 (1991, 1999*, 2015, 2019) 1 (2011) 3 (1995, 2003*, 2007) –8
 Germany 2 (2003, 2007) 1 (1995) – 2 (1991, 2015)5
 Norway 1 (1995) 1 (1991) – 2 (1999, 2007)4
 Japan 1 (2011) 1 (2015) – –2
 Sweden – 1 (2003) 3 (1991, 2011, 2019) –4
 Brazil – 1 (2007) 1 (1999) –2
 China – 1 (1999) – 1 (1995)2
 Netherlands – 1 (2019) – –1
 England – – 1 (2015) 1 (2019)2
 Canada – – – 1 (2003)1
 France – – – 1 (2011)1
* = hosts

Best performances by confederations

As of 2019, 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's defeat in the 2007 final. The farthest advancing African team was Nigeria, who were eliminated in the quarter finals in 1999. Oceania has sent two teams, Australia and New Zealand, 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, 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).

Round reached
Confederation AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Total
Final30510716
Semi-finals409201732
Quarter-finals14110403564
Round of 16 (since 2015)734301532
Total appearances29162015848136

Broadcasting and revenue

As of 2017, the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final was the most watched football match in American history with nearly 23 million viewers,[26] more than the 2015 NBA Finals and Stanley Cup.[27] It was also the most watched Spanish-language broadcast in tournament history.[26] More than 750 million viewers were reported to have watched the tournament worldwide.[28]

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 seven awards:

  • The Golden Ball for the best player, determined by a vote of media members (first awarded in 1991); the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball are awarded to the players finishing second and third in the voting respectively.
  • The Golden Boot (also known as the Golden Shoe) for the top goalscorer (first awarded in 1991). The Silver Boot and the Bronze Boot have been awarded to the second and third top goalscorers respectively.
    • If two or more players finish the tournament with the same number of goals, tiebreakers are used in the following order:
      • Most assists.
      • Fewest minutes played.
  • The Golden Glove Award for the best goalkeeper, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group. First awarded in 2007 as "Best Goalkeeper"; current award name adopted in 2011.
  • The Best Young Player Award for the best player no older than age 21 as of 1 January of the year of the final tournament, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group (first awarded in 2011).
  • The FIFA Fair Play Award for the team with the best record of fair play, according to the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee (first awarded in 1991).
  • The All-Star Team, consisting of the best players of the tournament as determined by the FIFA Technical Study Group (first selected in 1999).
  • The Dream Team, consisting of the best players of the tournament as chosen by users of fifa.com (first selected in 2015).

Another award is presented a week after the final match:

  • The Goal of the Tournament, consisting of the tournament's best goal, as chosen by users of fifa.com from a shortlist of 12 goals selected by FIFA's web administrators (first awarded in 2015).

One past award is no longer presented:

  • The Most Entertaining Team Award for the team that has entertained the public the most during the World Cup, determined by a poll of the general public (awarded in 2003 and 2007).

Records and statistics

Boldface indicates a player still playing.

Top goalscorers
Marta of Brazil is the all-time leading scorer of the World Cup.
Individual
Rank Player Goals scored
#1 Marta 17
#2 Birgit Prinz 14
Abby Wambach
#4 Michelle Akers 12
#5 Cristiane 11
Sun Wen
Bettina Wiegmann
Country
Rank Country Goals scored
#1 United States138
#2 Germany121
#3 Norway93
#4 Sweden71
#5 Brazil66
#6 China53
#7 England43
#8 Japan39
#9 Australia38
#10 Canada34

All-time table for champions
Rank Team Participations Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Titles
1 United States8504064138381001264
2 Germany84430591213982952
3 Norway84024412935241761
4 Japan833144153959-20461

See also
  • FIFA Women's Club World Cup
  • FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
  • FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

References
  1. "World Champions: USA Wins 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup". U.S. Soccer. 5 July 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  2. "Regulations FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  3. Garin, Erik (26 February 2015). "Coppa del Mondo (Women) 1970". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  4. Wilson, Bill (7 December 2018). "Mexico 1971: When women's football hit the big time". BBC. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  5. Garin, Eric (29 February 2004). "Mundial (Women) 1971". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  6. Kessel, Anna (5 June 2015). "Women's World Cup: from unofficial tournaments to record-breaking event". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  7. Garin, Erik (11 April 2019). "Mundialito (Women) 1981–1988". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  8. "Foundation of Asian brilliance". AFC. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  9. "Ellen Wille, mother of Norwegian women's football". FIFA. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  10. "A green and gold shirt steeped in history". 16 December 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. "When Akers and USA got the party started". FIFA.com. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  12. "Norway take gold in Sweden". FIFA.com. 22 March 2007. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  13. "Women's World Cup History". The Sports Network. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
  14. Koppel, Naomi (3 May 2003). "FIFA moves Women's World Cup from China because of SARS". USA Today. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
  15. Molinaro, John F. (3 March 2011). "Canada gets 2015 Women's World Cup of soccer". CBC Sports. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
  16. "Japan legend Sawa makes cut for sixth World Cup". Reuters. 1 May 2015.
  17. "USWNT'S Christie Rampone Is Now The Oldest Player To Appear In The Women's World Cup". Huffington Post. 17 June 2015.
  18. "France to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2019". FIFA.com. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015.
  19. "The Official Womens World Cup Trophy". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  20. "Women's World Cup Trophy Is Made of Gold-Clad Sterling Silver; Men's Version Is 18-Karat Gold". The Jeweler's Blog. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  21. "FIFA World Champions Badge honours Real Madrid's impeccable year". FIFA. 20 October 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019. The badge is also worn by the Japanese women’s national team following their triumph at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011™ ...
  22. "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015" (PDF). FIFA. p. 148. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  23. "Key figures from the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™". FIFA. 7 July 2015. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  24. "FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019". FIFA. p. 148. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  25. "Brazil takes third". SI/CNN. 10 July 1999. Archived from the original on 28 February 2002. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  26. "Women's World Cup Final Is Most-watched football Match in U.S. History". U.S. Soccer. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  27. Hinog, Mark (6 July 2015). "More Americans watched the Women's World Cup final than the NBA Finals or the Stanley Cup 24". SB Nation. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  28. "Record-breaking FIFA Women's World Cup tops 750 million TV viewers". FIFA. 17 December 2015. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
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