The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international governing body selected China as host nation as Guangdong had hosted a prototype world championship three years earlier, the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament. Matches were played in the provincial capital, Guangzhou, as well as in Foshan, Jiangmen and Zhongshan. The competition was sponsored by Mars, Incorporated, maker of M&M's candy. With FIFA still reluctant to bestow their "World Cup" brand, the tournament was officially known as the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup.
The 1995 King Fahd Cup was the second and last tournament held under the King Fahd Cup name before the competition was retroactively sanctioned by FIFA and recognized as FIFA Confederations Cup. Disputed as the King Fahd Cup, in honor of the then Saudi ruler who organized the tournament with his country's federation, it was hosted by Saudi Arabia in January 1995. It was won by Denmark, who beat defending champions Argentina 2–0 in the final.
Tianhe Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is currently used for football matches.
The AFC second round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 18 February 2004 and finished on 17 November 2004.
The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup final was an association football match that took place on 30 November 1991 at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, China. It was played between Norway and the United States to determine the winner of the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup. The United States beat Norway 2–1, with two goals from Michelle Akers-Stahl, to become winners of the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup.
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 experience of non-FIFA invitational competitions such as the Mundialito (1981–88) and the Women's World Invitational Tournament (1978–87). The competition was a success and on 30 June FIFA approved the establishment of an official World Cup for 1991, which would also be held in China.
The men's football tournament at the 2010 Asian Games was held in Guangzhou in China from 8 to 25 November.
Italy have participated three times at the FIFA Women's World Cup: in the inaugural edition of 1991, in 1999 and in 2019.
The New Zealand women's national football team has represented New Zealand at the FIFA Women's World Cup on six occasions in 1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. They have never won a game or advanced beyond the group stage.
The United States women's national soccer team is the most successful women's national team in the history of the Women's World Cup, having won four titles, earning second-place once and third-place finishes three times. The United States is one of the countries besides Germany, Japan, and Norway to win a FIFA Women's World Cup. The United States are also the only team that has played the maximum number of matches possible in every tournament.
The Chinese Taipei women's national football team has represented Taiwan at the FIFA Women's World Cup on one occasion, in 1991.
The Germany women's national football team has represented Germany at the FIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. They have won the title twice and were runners-up once. They also reached the fourth place in 1991 and in 2015.
The Norway women's national football team has represented Norway at the FIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. They were runners up in 1991. They won the following tournament in 1995. They also reached the fourth place in 1999 and in 2007.
The China women's national football team has represented China at the FIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015, 2019 and 2023, finishing as runners up once (1999) and once in fourth place (1995).
The Brazil women's national football team has represented Brazil at the FIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. They were runners-up once. They also reached the third place once.
The Sweden women's national football team has represented Sweden at the FIFA Women's World Cup on eight occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007,2011, 2015 and 2019. There were runners up once and three times bronze medalists: in 1991, in 2011 and in 2019
Group B of the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup took place from 17 to 21 November 1991. The group consisted of Brazil, Japan, Sweden and the United States.
Group C of the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup took place from 17 to 21 November 1991. The group consisted of Chinese Taipei, Germany, Italy and Nigeria.
The knockout stage of the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. It began on 24 November with the quarter-finals and ended on 30 November 1991 with the final match, held at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou. A total of eight teams advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament.
The Denmark women's national football team has represented Denmark at the FIFA Women's World Cup on four occasions, in 1991, 1995, 1999, and 2007.