The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the first FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national 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 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship was held from 10 to 27 November 2004. It was the second edition of the youth tournament for women put together by FIFA, before being renamed FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship for the 2006 edition. The tournament was hosted by Thailand, in two stadiums in Bangkok, one in Chiang Mai and another in Phuket. This was the first FIFA women's tournament held in Southeast Asia.
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 four times at the FIFA Women's World Cup: in the inaugural edition of 1991, 1999, 2019 and 2023.
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. New Zealand co-hosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup with Australia. They have never 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 five countries including Germany, Japan, Norway, and Spain to win a FIFA Women's World Cup.. The United States was also the only team that played the maximum number of matches possible in every tournament until they got eliminated in the round of 16 in 2023.
The Japan women's national football team has represented Japan at the FIFA Women's World Cup on nine occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023.
The Chinese Taipei women's national football team has represented Taiwan at the FIFA Women's World Cup on one occasion, in 1991.
The Nigeria women's national football team has represented Nigeria at the FIFA Women's World Cup at all nine stagings of the tournament, one of seven teams to do so. Despite the rich history, however, Nigeria's successes have been rather modest, having only progressed to the knockout phase in three occasions.
The Norway women's national football team has represented Norway at the FIFA Women's World Cup on nine occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. 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). Alongside Japan and Australia, they became one of the only three Asian Football Confederation teams to finish on the top four of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Brazil women's national football team has represented Brazil at the FIFA Women's World Cup on all ten occasions to date. As the most successful women's national football team in South America, Brazil is also the best-performing South American team at the FIFA Women's World Cup, reaching two podium finishes. Brazil will host the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Sweden women's national football team has represented Sweden at the FIFA Women's World Cup on nine occasions in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. There were runners up once and four times bronze medalists: in 1991, in 2011, in 2019 and in 2023.
Group A of the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup took place from 16 to 21 November 1991. The group consisted of hosts China PR, Denmark, New Zealand and Norway.
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 five occasions, in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2007 and 2023.
United States 
Sweden 
Brazil 
Japan 
