In her debut article for Impetus, Hannah Neal charts the history and growth of the Women’s World Cup (29/8/23).
Over a week since the World Cup has ended, and I think it’s safe to say it is not just me who has World Cup fever. This World Cup was certainly one to remember and honestly, I’m not too sure what to do without it. So, I decided to take a look into the making of the tournament and the big achievements of this one.
The First World Cups
The Coppa del Mondo, also known as the Martini and Rossi Cup, was a women’s association football tournament organized by the Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF). The tournament was held in Italy in 1970 and is recognized as the first-ever women’s World Cup, even though it had no affiliation with FIFA.
The tournament was originally planned for eight teams, but due to VISA issues Czechoslovakia had to withdraw and only seven teams participated. West Germany, Denmark, Mexico, Italy, Austria, England, and Switzerland competed. Denmark won the final 2-0 against Italy in front of a crowd of 40,000.
In 1971, the FIEFF organized another ‘World Cup’ in Mexico City and Guadalajara with six participating teams: Mexico, Argentina, England, Denmark, Italy, and France. Denmark, the reigning champions, defended their title by defeating the hosts Mexico 3-0 in front of an audience of 110,000.
The Mundialito was a prestigious invitation-only football tournament held from 1981 to 1988, known as the “Little World Cup.” Italy won the first edition in Japan, and the tournament featured a partial round-robin format. Four editions were held in Italy.
Only two nations have ever won the tournament: Italy with three titles and England with two. Since its abolition in 1988, the Algarve Cup has become known unofficially as the Mundialito. This invitational tournament has been held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, making it one of the most prestigious and longest-running women’s tournaments.
The Women’s World Invitational Tournament, also known as the Chunghua Cup, was organized by the Chinese Taipei Football Association and held every three years from 1978 to 1987 and it’s huge success put pressure on FIFA to launch a World Cup. In 1988, the first FIFA Women’s Tournament was held in China from June 1 to June 12. The FIFA Women’s Invitation Tournament was a feasibility test for a global women’s World Cup, with 12 national teams participating (Ivory Coast, China, Japan, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Canada, and the United States).
A crowd of 30-35,000 people watched Norway defeat Sweden 1-0 in the final, resulting in their tournament victory. As a result, FIFA approved the establishment of the first-ever Women’s World Cup, which took place in 1991.
FIFA Women’s World Cup — Through the years
Only 12 teams with 18-player squads participated in the first Women’s World Cup in 1991, matches lasted 80 minutes and a win was awarded two points, not three (in line with the men’s World Cup at the time in terms of points awarded). Held in Guangdong, China, the tournament drew a total attendance of 510,000 people (avg 19,615 per game). Despite there being no broadcasting of the tournament, the turnout was incredibly impressive and showcased a big interest in women’s football. The USA won their first (of many) world cups in the first edition, with a 2-1 win against Norway in front of 63,000 people.
The next edition came four years later, in 1995. Hosted by Sweden, the average attendance took a considerable drop to 112,213 people in attendance (avg 4,315). The difference in attendance was not due to uninterest in the game, but due to the distance between stadiums, which ranged in capacity from 7,300 to 36,800. The lack of transport meant people couldn’t easily access the games, and the lack of media coverage would not allow audiences to watch at home either. Norway claimed the title of world champions this time around, with a 2-0 victory over Germany.
The 1999 World Cup was incredibly special. Due to the USWNT’s successful run in the 1996 home Olympics, the World Cup matches were chosen to be held in large stadiums, the smallest having a capacity of 26,000. The number of competing teams increased to 16, with 20-player squads that were first introduced in the second edition. This was also the first tournament to include an all-female squad of referees and match officials. With a record-breaking attendance of 1.194 million, the tournament was deemed incredibly successful. The large media coverage meant that all 32 matches were broadcast throughout America on various channels. Over 2,000 journalists attended the tournament including various major newspaper outlets in America.
The final saw an attendance of 90,185 people, an international record for spectators at a women’s event. The USA faced China in the final and won their second World Cup title, winning 5–4 on penalties. Brandi Chastain scored the winning penalty, and she celebrated by taking off her shirt, something that was very common in the men’s game, but not in the women’s. The great success of the tournament paved the way for the formation of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2012, after the downfall of two previous leagues.
The 2003 Women’s World Cup was originally meant to be hosted in China, but due to a SARS outbreak, it was rescheduled and held in the USA instead. The tournament games were hosted in smaller stadiums, compared to the previous edition, resulting in a lower total attendance of 678,666 people (average 21,240).
107 goals were scored across 32 matches. Despite this being the USA’s second home tournament, they did not see victory and placed third. Germany won the final 2-1 against Sweden, making Germany the first country to have both their men’s and women’s teams win a World Cup.
Due to the 2003 SARS outbreak, China was immediately granted hosting rights for the 2007 World Cup. A record-breaking opening match saw the latest champions Germany defeat Argentina 11-0, making it the biggest win and highest-scoring match in WWC history. A total attendance of 1,190,971 was achieved (average 37,218). Germany’s incredibly successful campaign resulted in a 2-0 win over Brazil, securing their second consecutive title and keeping a clean sheet throughout. This tournament was the first to introduce prize money, which totalled $5.8 million.
The 2011 World Cup took place in Germany, and squad sizes increased to 21 players. The final was seen by 62.8 million in 181 countries and the total attendance was 845,711 (average 26,428). Despite the success of Germany over the last two tournaments, they exited in the quarter-finals. Japan won 3-1 on penalties against the USA, making them the first Asian team to win a senior World Cup.
Canada hosted the 2015 Women’s World Cup from June 6 to July 5, with 24 teams playing 52 matches and scoring 146 goals. The tournament set a new attendance record of 1,353,306 people (which was only broken in the recent edition). The final was a rematch from four years prior, the USA beat Japan 5-2, with Carli Llyod scoring a hattrick, becoming the first player to score three goals in a women’s World Cup final and the second in a World Cup final, regardless of gender.
The 2019 World Cup was held in France and was the first tournament to use VAR. The event had a total attendance of 1,131,312 with an average of 21,756. The USA won the Final 2-0 against the Netherlands, securing their fourth title.
A Memorable Tournament
The 2023 Women’s World Cup kicked off on July 20th with a beautiful opening ceremony to mark the start of the tournament.
New Zealand opened the event against Norway, beating them 1-0 with Hannah Wilkinson’s goal, marking New Zealand’s first-ever win in a World Cup game. On the same day, Australia faced the Republic of Ireland, with the home team also winning 1-0. The opening games of the tournament saw record-breaking attendance of 42,137 and 75,784 respectively.
For the tournament, a new record was set, with a total attendance of 1,978,274, (an average of 30,911 each match), breaking the record set in the 2015 World Cup in Canada (1,353,306).
The record-breaking crowd for New Zealand marks the highest attendance for a soccer match, for either men or women in Aotearoa. The opening match was a very emotional day for all involved, from the devastating shooting in Auckland that morning to the historic match that brought joy back to the city despite the tragedy prior.
‘’This morning something really really tragic happened and we wanted to bring something positive tonight’’ the Football Fern’s captain, Ali Riley showed her emotion in the post-match interview.
This edition of the Women’s World Cup was the first to see 32 different teams competing in eight groups, as well as being the first Women’s World Cup to have co-hosting countries, to be held in the Southern Hemisphere and to be held over two confederations, (Asian and Oceanian). Eight teams made their debut, showcasing their skills on the big stage; Haiti, Morrocco, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Ireland, Vietnam, and Zambia.
The debutants brought many firsts for their nations this tournament. Philippines scored their first-ever World Cup goal, by Sarina Bolden to beat other co-hosts New Zealand, 1-0. Telma Encarnação scored Portugal’s first World Cup goal, Marta Cox scored in the second minute for Panama’s first World Cup goal, an incredible free kick, over 30 yards from the box and captain Katie McCabe scored Ireland’s first World Cup goal with an absolute jaw-dropping goal directly from a corner kick.
Nouhaila Benzina made history when she became the first player to wear a hijab during a World Cup, The Moroccan defender started in the game against South Korea, where they won 1-0.
The USA’s Megan Rapinoe played her last tournament this summer, after announcing she will retire at the end of the NWSL season. Rapinoe scored some incredible goals over the years, but I think the thing the USA and fans will miss most, is how she is never afraid to speak up for what’s right. Her activism has shone a light on the problems within the world and helped to advocate for the queer community, people of colour, and women everywhere.
Olympic Gold Medallists, Canada, exited the tournament in the group stage, after a 4-0 defeat to co-hosts Australia. Christine Sinclair has participated in six World Cups, and this was likely her last, though not confirmed. An exit this early is unfortunate in her possible last big tournament.
Then, footballing legend, Marta, play her definite last World Cup. The Brazilian forward has played in a total of six World Cups as well as Sinclair and currently holds the record for the most goals scored in the tournament, with 17.
Since the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, the tournament has only been won by four teams: the USA, Norway, Germany, and Japan. This tournament brought shocks to everyone as all four previous champions were knocked out by the quarterfinals at the latest.
South Korea put up an incredible fight against Germany, despite knowing they could not exit the group. Germany fought until the last minute, meanwhile, Colombia faced Morrocco. For the first time, European giants Germany exited the tournament in the group stage, finishing third. Though disappointing for the Germans, this meant that debutants Morrocco had qualified for the round of 16, along with two other African nations, South Africa and Nigeria.
Norway had a disappointing run, former World Cup winner Hege Riise coached the side with some controversial decisions, like dropping Caroline Graham Hansen to the bench after the opening match against New Zealand. The Norwegian squad is full of talent, but something is missing. They suffered a 3-1 defeat by Japan, with an unfortunate own goal by Ingrid Syrstad Engen that sent them home in the round of 16.
Four-time champions USA also exited in the round of 16. After a 0-0 draw between Sweden, the game went to penalties. With the shoot-out reaching 4-4, Lina Hurtig stepped up to take the next one, the possible winner. She shoots it towards the bottom left corner and was initially saved by Naeher, however, it takes a deflection up into the air before coming back down. The US keeper tried to scramble it away but the decision went to VAR who decided it was a goal.
The USA struggled throughout the Group stage, achieving a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2019 final, as well as a 0-0 draw against debutants Portugal, only winning one match, 3-0 against Vietnam.
Defender Kelly O’Hara was seen on the sidelines alongside coach Vlatko Andonovski directing the players whilst players huddled by themselves without their coach to talk tactics in the game, seeming that the coach had no real impact on the team. Shortly after their World Cup exit, it was announced that ‘’U.S. Soccer and Vlatko Andonovski Mutually Agree To Part Ways’’ via social media.
The last of the previous champions to exit the tournament came in the quarter-finals, when Sweden knocked another giant out of the game, Japan. Sweden secured two goals. Japan hitting back three minutes from time caused scares, but there was not enough time for Japan to equalise.
Japan were consistently impressive from the start of the tournament, they played a brilliant counter-attack, especially against Spain when they won 4-0 with only 23% possession, but Sweden was able to completely dismantle their strategies and shut down their opponent’s chances. Sweden made it to the Semi-Finals where they were defeated 2-1 by Spain. Although not making it to the finals, they won 2-0 against Australia in the third-place playoffs and secured their bronze medals.
Given the proven success of host countries going far in tournaments over the years, The Matildas were definitely a favourite. However, a major blow came when the face of Australia’s all-time record scorer Sam Kerr suffered a calf injury in training, ruling her out of at least the first two games in the tournament. Despite playing the group stages without Kerr, vice-captain Steph Catley took the team through to the knockout stages, topping the group stage with six points.
Kerr didn’t make her return to the pitch until the round of 16 match against Denmark in the 80th minute, where the hosts won 2-0. Then came the dramatic quarter-final against France when the Western Australian entered the action in the 55th minute. The striker went on to score in the longest penalty shootout in the Women’s World Cup history. With a total of 20 penalties taken, Australia beat France 7-6, with Cortnee Vine scoring the winner. They advanced to the semifinals for the first time ever.
Unfortunately, the hosts suffered a 3-1 defeat by England and went on to finish fourth after being defeated by Sweden in the third-place playoff.
A lot of questions arose before the tournament about how far Spain would go given the recent controversies and behaviour of the federation and coach Jorge Vilda. Spain hadn’t made it out of the first knockout round in big tournaments since 1997 when they reached the semi-finals in the UEFA Women’s Championship (now known as The Euros). However, in this tournament, Spain went further after defeating England in the final.
It is important to recognise that the Spanish players achieved this themselves, despite the ongoing situation with their federation.
Jorge Vilda’s controversial behaviour over many months have been highlighted along with the disgraceful behaviour of Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales who has been suspended by FIFA whilst they review the disciplinary proceedings after he sexually assaulted player Jenni Hermoso during the medal ceremony.
One week on from the final, 81 Spanish players have signed a statement refusing to be called up to the national team until leadership changes are made, standing in support of Jenni Hermoso who has expressed she ‘’felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part’’ in her statement.
You can read more in-depth about the situation here: RFEF has given us a glimpse of the institutional misogyny women footballers face (impetusfootball.org)
It is hard to celebrate the historic victory in Spanish Women’s Football when it has been tainted by the abusive, misogynistic men who are in charge. The Spanish players have just achieved the dream of their career and instead of celebrating the biggest achievement in football, they are once again stuck in a fight with their coach and federation, fighting for basic respect. The situation needs to be resolved quickly so that the Spanish players can freely play for their country in a safe environment.
The women’s game has come a long way, but there is still so much further it needs to go. With the right investment and the right people in power, the game can continue to grow and showcase how wonderful women in sports are.
This is Hannah Neal’s debut article for Impetus. To read her writers’ bio and those of all our contributors, click here: https://impetusfootball.org/about-our-contributors/
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