1970 Women's World Cup

1970 Women's World Cup

Martini & Rossi Cup
Tournament details
Host country	Italy
Dates	6–15 July
Teams	7
Venue(s)	7 (in 7 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Denmark
Runners-up	Italy
Third place	Mexico
Fourth place	England
Tournament statistics
Matches played	8
Goals scored	37 (4.63 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Kirsten Evers Alicia Vargas (5 goals each)
1971 Women's World Cup →

The 1970 Women's World Cup (Italian: Coppa del Mondo; sponsored name Martini & Rossi Cup) was an association football tournament organised by the Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF) in Italy in July 1970. ^[1] It featured women's teams from seven countries and is the first known tournament to be named as a women's football World Cup.

Matches were played in Genoa, Bologna, Milan, Bari, Salerno, Naples, and the third-place playoff and final were both in Turin.

The tournament was won by Denmark, represented by Boldklubben Femina.

The tournament

Eight teams were scheduled to appear in the tournament. The first list of participants, published in February 1970, consisted of Argentina, Denmark, France, Italy, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, England, and the Soviet Union. This was changed in a later revision, with West Germany, Mexico, Austria and Switzerland replacing Argentina, France, Brazil and the Soviet Union in May 1970. ^[2] Czechoslovakia would have been the only country from Europe's Eastern Bloc to compete, but the team withdrew ^[1] because of visa issues. ^[2]

The crowds for the tournament were "30,000-strong". ^[3] Denmark won the tournament after beating Italy 2–0 in the final. ^[2]

Teams were divided into the "northern" group (in Genoa, Bologna and Milan), and "southern" (Bari, Salerno, Naples) with the top teams meeting in the final.

The tournament did not involve FIFA, which had held the first men's World Cup in 1930 but did not hold any women's event until 1988. The host country's matches are considered official by the Italian Football Federation. The Italian women's league had been established in 1968. ^[4]

Mexico, a losing semi-finalist 2–1 to Italy, were described as the "revelation" of the tournament. ^[5]

Bracket

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	6 July — Genova
	England	5
					10 July — Milan
	West Germany	1
					England	0
	9 July — Bologna
					Denmark	2
	Denmark	6
									15 July — Torino
	West Germany	1
									Denmark	2
	6 July — Bari
									Italy	0
	Mexico	9
					11 July — Napoli
	Austria	0
					Mexico	1
	9 July — Salerno
					Italy	2			Third place
	Italy	2
									13 July — Torino
	Switzerland	1
									Mexico	3
									England	2

Quarter-finals

6 July 1970

England	5–1	West Germany
Briggs 1', 9' Stockley 25' (pen.) Cross 36' Dolling 61'		Schmitz 49'

Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genova

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6 July 1970

Mexico	9–0	Austria
Rubio 1', 31' Vargas 4', 18', 47', 57' Huerta 8' Hernández 49', 61'

Stadio della Vittoria, Bari

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Czechoslovakia withdrew due to visa issues, and so West Germany were given a second chance instead.

9 July 1970

Denmark	6–1	West Germany
Evers 8', 35', 69' Christensen 9', 19' E. Hansen 24'		Arzdorf 15'

Stadio Comunale, Bologna

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9 July 1970

Italy	2–1	Switzerland
Mella 15' Avon 68'		Ripamonti 40'

Stadio Donato Vestuti, Salerno

Referee: Santopietro (Italy)

Semi-finals

10 July 1970

Denmark	2–0	England
Evers 46', 70'

San Siro, Milan

Referee: Lojacono (Italy)

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11 July 1970

Italy	2–1	Mexico
Schiavo 5', 40'		Mondo 48' (o.g.)

Stadio San Paolo, Napoli

Third place play-off

13 July 1970

Mexico	3–2	England
Vargas 3' Hernández 9' Tovar 15'		Davies 24' Stockey 55' (pen.)

Stadio Comunale, Torino

Attendance: 3000

Referee: Sicco (Italy)

Final

15 July 1970

Denmark	2–0	Italy
E. Hansen 18' Sešiková 68'

Stadio Comunale, Torino

Attendance: 40,000 ^{[2] [6]}

Referee: Cosentina (Italy)

Memorials

Tournament memorabilia was collected at an exhibition in Pessione di Chieri (Turin) from June to August 2019. ^[6]

Later tournaments

The tournament was followed by the 1971 Women's World Cup in Mexico, and the series of five Mundialito tournaments from 1981 to 1988 in Japan and Italy, before the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament and 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, both in China. ^[7]

See also

Tan cerca de las nubes ^{[ citation needed ]}, documentary (in Spanish) about the Mexican squad that participated in the 1970 cup, as well as the 1971 one. ^[8]

References

1. Pieper, Lindsay (2 July 2015). "The Beleaguered History of the Women's World Cup (2 Jul 2015)". US Sport History. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
2. "Coppa del Mondo (Women) 1970". RSSSF . Retrieved 10 December 2018.
3. Bill Wilson (7 December 2018). "Mexico 1971: When women's football hit the big time". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
4. Seneghini, Federica. "Noi, calciatrici, vi raccontiamo com'è scendere in campo nel Paese degli azzurri". Corriere Della Sera. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
5. "July 1970 the first women's World Cup". La Lazio al femminile. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
6. Santoro, Gisella (26 June 2019). "Martini celebrates the first women's football World Cup in 1970". golditacco.it. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
7. Anna Kessel (4 June 2015). "Women's World Cup: from unofficial tournaments to record-breaking event". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
8. "'Tan cerca de las nubes' de Manuel Cañibe: las futbolistas que olvidó el estadio". IMCINE.

Bibliography

• Barboni, Luca; Cecchi, Gabriele (1999). Annuario del calcio femminile 1999-2000 (in Italian). Fornacette (Pisa, Italy): Mariposa Editrice S.r.l. pp. 230–231.