FIFA Women's World Cup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA logo without slogan
Organising body	FIFA
Founded	1991; 34 years ago (1991)
Region	International
Number of teams	32
Related competitions	FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup FIFA World Cup
Current champions	Spain (1st title) (2023)
Most successful team(s)	United States (4 titles)
Television broadcasters	List of broadcasters

The FIFA Women's World Cup is a huge international soccer competition. It features the best women's national teams from around the world. These teams are all members of FIFA, which is the main group that runs global soccer.

This exciting tournament happens every four years. It started in 1991 in China, and back then it was called the FIFA Women's World Championship. Teams compete for 31 spots in a three-year qualification stage. The country hosting the World Cup automatically gets the first spot. The main part of the tournament, called the World Cup Finals, takes place in the host country over about one month.

So far, nine FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments have been played. Five different countries have won the title. The United States has won the most, with four titles. Germany has won twice. Japan, Norway, and Spain have each won once.

Eight countries have hosted the Women's World Cup. China and the United States have hosted it twice. Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, and Sweden have each hosted it one time. The 2023 tournament was special because it was hosted by two countries, Australia and New Zealand. It was also the first time the tournament was held in the Southern Hemisphere. The next one, the 2027 competition, will be in Brazil, making it the first in South America.

How Teams Qualify and Play

Getting into the World Cup

To play in the Women's World Cup, teams must first go through qualifying tournaments. These are held in six different parts of the world: Africa, Asia, North and Central America, South America, Oceania, and Europe. Each area has its own soccer group that organizes these games.

FIFA decides how many spots each part of the world gets in the World Cup. This depends on how strong the teams from those areas usually are. The host country always gets a spot automatically. Since the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the number of teams in the final tournament has grown from 16 to 24, and now to 32!

The Main Tournament: Group and Knockout Stages

The final tournament brings together 12 to 32 national teams. They play over about a month in the host country or countries. The tournament has two main parts: the group stage and the knockout stage.

In the group stage, teams are put into groups, usually with four teams in each. Every team in a group plays against every other team once. This is called a round-robin tournament. The last games in each group are played at the same time to keep things fair.

Teams get points for their games:

• Three points for a win
• One point for a draw (a tie)
• Zero points for a loss

Teams are ranked in their group based on:

• Most points from group matches.
• Best goal difference (goals scored minus goals against).
• Most goals scored.
• If teams are still tied, their head-to-head results are used.

After the group stage, the best teams move on to the knockout stage. This is a single-elimination tournament. If a team loses, they are out! If a game is tied after regular time, they play extra time. If it's still tied, they have a penalty shootout to decide the winner. The knockout stage starts with the "Round of 16," then moves to quarter-finals, semi-finals, a third-place match, and finally, the big championship game.

History of the Women's World Cup

The idea of a Women's World Cup goes back to unofficial tournaments in the 1970s. The first one was in Italy in 1970, won by Denmark. Another big unofficial tournament happened in Mexico in 1971, where Denmark beat Mexico 3-0 in front of a huge crowd at the Azteca Stadium. In the 1980s, a tournament called the Mundialito was held in Italy.

As more countries allowed women's soccer, people started pushing for an official global event. In 1988, FIFA held a test tournament in China. Twelve national teams played, and it was a big success! The opening match between China and Canada had 45,000 fans, and games averaged 20,000 people. Norway won that test tournament. Because it was so popular, FIFA decided to create an official Women's World Cup.

The first official FIFA Women's World Cup was held in China in 1991. Twelve teams competed. The United States won, beating Norway 2-1 in the final.

In the 1995 tournament in Sweden, Norway won their only title, beating Germany 2-0. The 1999 World Cup in the United States was very famous. The final, where the US beat China in a penalty shootout, had 90,185 fans at the Rose Bowl! This was one of the most-watched women's sports events ever.

The United States also hosted the 2003 World Cup. China was supposed to host, but it was moved because of a health issue (SARS). China then hosted in 2007. Germany hosted in 2011, and Canada hosted in 2015. The 2015 tournament was the first to have 24 teams.

During the 2015 World Cup, two players, Formiga from Brazil and Homare Sawa from Japan, played in their sixth World Cup! This was a record for both men and women. In 2019, France hosted, and the United States won their fourth title.

The 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand was the first to have 32 teams. It was also the first time two countries from different soccer regions hosted together. Spain won their first-ever title, beating England 1-0 in the final. This made Spain only the second country to win both the men's and women's World Cups, after Germany.

The World Cup Trophy

The trophy given to the Women's World Cup winners was designed in 1998. It looks like a spiral band holding a soccer ball at the top. It's made of sterling silver with gold plating. The trophy is about 47 centimeters (18.5 inches) tall and weighs 4.6 kilograms (10 pounds).

Underneath the base of the trophy, the names of all the past winners are carved. Unlike the men's World Cup trophy, which is kept by FIFA, a new winner's trophy is made for each women's champion to take home. FIFA keeps the original trophy.

Since 2007, the winning team also gets a special FIFA Champions Badge. They get to wear this badge on their jerseys until the next World Cup winner is decided.

Where the World Cup Has Been Hosted

The Women's World Cup has been hosted by countries all over the world.

Total of World Cup competitions hosted by each confederation (1991–2023)
Confederation and year in bold has an upcoming competition

Confederation	Total	Hosts
Asian Football Confederation (AFC)	3	1991:  China 2007:  China 2023:  Australia
Confederation of African Football (CAF)	0
Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF)	3	1999:  United States 2003:  United States 2015:  Canada
South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL)	1	2027:  Brazil
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)	1	2023:  New Zealand
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)	3	1995:  Sweden 2011:  Germany 2019:  France

Fan Attendance at the World Cup

Many fans come to watch the Women's World Cup games. The attendance has grown a lot over the years, showing how popular women's soccer has become.

Year	Hosts	Venues/ Cities	Total attendance †	Matches	Average attendance	Highest attendances
						Number	Venue	Game(s)
1991	China	6/4	510,000	26	18,344	65,000	Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou	China PR 4–0 Norway, Opening match
1995	Sweden	5/5	112,213	26	4,316	17,158	Råsunda Stadium, Solna	Germany 0–2 Norway, final
1999	United States	8/8	1,214,209	32	37,944	90,185	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California	United States 0–0 (5–4p) China PR, final
2003	United States	6/6	679,664	32	21,240	34,144	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.	United States 3–1 Sweden, quarter-final
2007	China	5/5	1,190,971	32	37,218	55,832	Tianjin Olympic Center, Tianjin	China PR 2–0 New Zealand, group stage
2011	Germany	9/9	845,751	32	26,430	73,680	Olympiastadion, Berlin	Germany 2–1 Canada, group stage
2015	Canada	6/6	1,353,506	52	26,029	54,027	BC Place, Vancouver	England 2–1 Canada, quarter-final
2019	France	9/9	1,131,312	52	21,756	57,900	Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu	United States 2–0 Netherlands, final
2023	Australia  New Zealand	10/9	1,978,274	64	30,911	75,784	Stadium Australia, Sydney	Five matches, all at Stadium Australia.
2027	Brazil	10/10					TBA	TBA
Overall			9,015,900	348	25,908	90,185	Rose Bowl, Pasadena (1999)

Source: FIFA

The 2023 Women's World Cup set a new record for attendance. It had more fans than any other FIFA competition except for the men's World Cup.

World Cup Winners and Top Teams

Five different countries have won the Women's World Cup. The United States has won the most titles, with four. They have also played in every World Cup and reached the top four teams eight times.

Ed.	Year	Hosts	Final			Third-place playoff			No. of teams
			Champions	Score	Runners-up	Third place	Score	Fourth place
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 (aet) (5–4 p) Rose Bowl, Pasadena	China	Brazil	0–0 (5–4 p) Rose Bowl, Pasadena	Norway	16
4	2003	United States	Germany	2–1 (aet) 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 (aet) (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 (aet) 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	Spain	1–0 Stadium Australia, Sydney	England	Sweden	2–0 Lang Park, Brisbane	Australia	32
10	2027	Brazil							32

Map of countries' best results

Teams Reaching the Top Four

This table shows which teams have reached the semi-finals (top four) in the Women's World Cup.

Teams reaching the semi-finals

Team	Title(s)	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	Top 4 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
Spain	1 (2023)				1
Sweden		1 (2003)	4 (1991, 2011, 2019, 2023)		5
England		1 (2023)	1 (2015)	1 (2019)	3
Brazil		1 (2007)	1 (1999)		2
China		1 (1999)		1 (1995)	2
Netherlands		1 (2019)			1
Canada				1 (2003)	1
France				1 (2011)	1
Australia				1 (2023*)	1

* host nation

Best Performance by Regions

As of 2023, teams from four of the six FIFA regions have reached a Women's World Cup final. Only teams from Africa and Oceania have not made it to the final game. Brazil, from South America, is the only team to reach a final but not win it.

The United States and Norway are the only teams to win a tournament hosted in their own region. The US won in 1999 (at home) and 2015 (in Canada). Norway won in 1995 (in Sweden).

Broadcasting and Money

The Women's World Cup has become very popular to watch. The 2015 final was the most-watched soccer match in American history, with almost 23 million viewers. More than 750 million people watched the tournament around the world.

In 2023, FIFA started selling broadcast rights for the Women's World Cup separately from the men's tournament. This was a new step.

Records and Statistics

Top Goalscorers

Marta from Brazil is the all-time leading scorer in the Women's World Cup.

Individual Players

Rank	Player	Goals scored
1	Marta	17
2	Birgit Prinz	14
	Abby Wambach
4	Michelle Akers	12
5	Cristiane	11
	Sun Wen
	Bettina Wiegmann
8	Christine Sinclair	10
	Ann Kristin Aarønes
	Carli Lloyd

Countries

Rank	Country	Goals scored
1	United States	142
2	Germany	129
3	Norway	100
4	Sweden	83
5	Brazil	71
6	England	56
7	China	55
8	Japan	54
9	Australia	48
10	France	44

Awards Given at the World Cup

At the end of each Women's World Cup, special awards are given to players and teams for their amazing achievements.

• The Golden Ball goes to the best overall player in the tournament.
• The Golden Boot is for the player who scores the most goals.
• The Golden Glove is given to the best goalkeeper.
• The FIFA Young Player Award is for the best player under 21 years old.
• The FIFA Fair Play Trophy is for the team that shows the best sportsmanship.

There are also awards voted on by fans:

• The Player of the Match is given to an outstanding player in each game.
• The Goal of the Tournament is for the fans' favorite goal scored during the tournament.

World Cup	Golden Ball	Golden Boot	Goals	Golden Glove	Clean sheets	FIFA Young Player Award	FIFA Fair Play Trophy
1991 China	Carin Jennings	Michelle Akers	10	Not awarded	N/A	Not awarded	Germany
1995 Sweden	Hege Riise	Ann Kristin Aarønes	6				Sweden
1999 United States	Sun Wen	Sun Wen Sissi	7	Gao Hong Briana Scurry	5		China
2003 United States	Birgit Prinz	Birgit Prinz	7	Silke Rottenberg	5		China
2007 China	Marta	Marta	7	Nadine Angerer	6		Norway
2011 Germany	Homare Sawa	Homare Sawa	5	Hope Solo	2	Caitlin Foord	Japan
2015 Canada	Carli Lloyd	Célia Šašić	6	Hope Solo	5	Kadeisha Buchanan	France
2019 France	Megan Rapinoe	Megan Rapinoe	6	Sari van Veenendaal	3	Giulia Gwinn	France
2023 Australia/New Zealand	Aitana Bonmatí	Hinata Miyazawa	5	Mary Earps	3	Salma Paralluelo	Japan

Images for kids

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  FIFA logo without slogan

See also

In Spanish: Copa Mundial Femenina de Fútbol para niños

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