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1991 FIFA Women's World Cup

{{EngvarB|date=July 2019}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}

{{Infobox international football competition

| tourney_name = FIFA Women's World Cup

| other_titles = 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup

| year = 1991

| country = China

| dates = {{Nowrap|16–30 November}}

| name =

| image = 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup.png

| size = 160px

| caption = Official logo

| num_teams = 12

| confederations = 6

| venues = 6

| cities = 4

| champion_other = {{nowrap|{{fbw|USA}}}}

| count = 1

| second_other = {{fbw|NOR}}

| third_other = {{fbw|SWE}}

| fourth_other = {{fbw|GER}}

| matches = 26

| goals = 99

| attendance = {{#expr: 65000 + 14000 + 12000 + 27000 + 14000 + 15500 + 14000 + 14000 + 14000 + 15500 + 14000 + 12000 + 14000 + 11000 + 12000 + 10000 + 14000 + 12000 + 12000 + 55000 + 13000 + 12000 + 16000 + 15000 + 20000 + 63000}}

| top_scorer = {{fbwicon|USA}} Michelle Akers-Stahl {{nowrap|(10 goals)}}

| player = {{fbwicon|USA}} Carin Jennings

| fair_play = {{fbw|GER}}

| nextseason = 1995

}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.topofthecircle.com/OMwusa1.html |title=WUSA opening a feast for the eyes – and ears |publisher=TopOfTheCircle.com |access-date=21 April 2013 |first=Al |last=Mattei}}

It was won by the United States,{{Cite web |date=2022-08-05 |title=Since The First FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991, The USWNT Has Had A Wide Impact |url=https://www.teamusa.com/news/2022/august/05/since-the-first-fifa-womens-world-cup-in-1991-the-uswnt-has-had-a-wide-impact |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=www.teamusa.com |language=en}} whose captain April Heinrichs formed a forward line dubbed the "Triple-Edged Sword" with Carin Jennings and Michelle Akers-Stahl. Jennings was named player of the tournament while Akers-Stahl's ten goals won the Golden Boot.{{cite magazine |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/1999/womens_worldcup/history/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000819065915/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/1999/womens_worldcup/history/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 August 2000 |title=CNN/SI – Women's World Cup – Women's World Cup History – Thursday February 11, 1999 06:04 PM |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=1 August 2012}} The United States defeated Norway 2–1 in the final in front of a crowd of 63,000 people at Guangzhou's Tianhe Stadium.{{cite news |last=Basler |first=Barbara |date=1 December 1991 |title=U.S. Women Beat Norway To Capture World Cup |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/01/sports/soccer-us-women-beat-norway-to-capture-world-cup.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=12 June 2019}} Total attendance for the tournament was 510,000, an average per match of 19,615. In the opening match at the same stadium, Norway was defeated 4–0 by hosts China. Chinese defender Ma Li scored the first goal in Women's World Cup history, while goalkeeper Zhong Honglian, also of China, posted the first official "clean sheet" in the tournament.

The 12 qualified teams were divided into three groups of four (A to C). The top two teams and the two best third-place finishers from the three groups advanced to the knockout round of eight teams. For only the first edition of the Women's World Cup, all matches lasted only 80 minutes, instead of the typical 90, and two points were awarded for a win (both of which would change in 1995).{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Jean |title=A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football |page=4 |quote=Some of the terms and conditions had been changed this time: 90 minutes of play instead of 80 in China, a full group of 20 players instead of 18, three points for a win, and the experiment with time out. |isbn=978-1-84788-345-2 |date=1 November 2007 |publisher=Berg Publishers}}

Venues

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
colspan="3"|Guangzhou
Guangdong Provincial Stadium

| Tianhe Stadium

| Ying Tung Stadium

Capacity: 25,000

| Capacity: 60,000

| Capacity: 15,000

200px

| 180px

|

colspan=3 |

{{Location map+ |Guangdong |float=center |width=450 |caption=|places=Map of Guangdong with 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup venues marked.

{{Location map~ |Guangdong |lat=23.13|long=113.25 |label=Guangzhou |position=right}}

{{Location map~ |Guangdong |lat=23.01|long=113.07 |label=Foshan |position=left}}

{{Location map~ |Guangdong |lat=22.34|long=113.40 |label=Zhongshan |position=right}}

{{Location map~ |Guangdong |lat=22.32|long=113.21 |label=Jiangmen |position=left}}

}}

Foshan

! Jiangmen

! Zhongshan

New Plaza Stadium

| Jiangmen Stadium

| Zhongshan Stadium

Capacity: 14,000

| Capacity: 13,000

| Capacity: 12,000

|

|180px

Participating teams and officials

=Qualification=

{{Main|1991 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification}}

The 1991 Women's World Cup had twelve participating teams compete in the final tournament. Each of the six FIFA confederations had at least one representative.

style="width:90%"
style="width:50% vertical-align:top" |

  • Africa (CAF)
  • {{fbw|NGA}}
  • Asia (AFC)
  • {{fbw|CHN}}
  • {{fbw|JPN|1947}}
  • {{fbw|TPE|football-old}}
  • South America (CONMEBOL)
  • {{fbw|BRA|1968}}
  • Oceania (OFC)
  • {{fbw|NZL}}

| style="width:50% vertical-align:top" |

  • Europe (UEFA)
  • {{fbw|DEN}}
  • {{fbw|GER}}
  • {{fbw|ITA}}
  • {{fbw|NOR}}
  • {{fbw|SWE}}
  • North America, Central America & Caribbean (CONCACAF)
  • {{fbw|USA}}

Squads

For a list of the squads that contended for the final tournament, see 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup squads.

Match officials

For the first time in FIFA competition, six female officials were included. All functioned as lineswomen, except for Cláudia Vasconcelos who took charge of the third place play-off; becoming the first woman to referee a match sanctioned by FIFA.{{harvnb|Lopez|1997|p=195}}{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament=103/edition=3373/overview.html |title=FIFA Women's World Cup – China PR 1991 |publisher=FIFA |access-date=21 April 2013 |quote=In keeping with the true spirit of the celebration, six female referees or assistant referees were appointed among match officials for the first time in FIFA history. Claudia de Vasconcelos of Brazil, the referee for the 3rd-place match, became the first woman to officiate at this level for FIFA. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311200025/http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/tournament%3D103/edition%3D3373/overview.html |archive-date=11 March 2013 }}

class="wikitable"
Confederation

! Referee

! Appointments

colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:whitesmoke;" | Male officials
rowspan="6" | AFC

| Dai Yuguang (China PR)

| 4 matches as linesman

Li Haiseng (China PR)

| 2 matches as linesman

Lu Jun (China PR)

| 2 matches as referee, 1 match as linesman

Shyam Krishna Shrestha (Nepal)

| 2 matches as referee, 1 match as linesman

Xuezhi Wang (China PR)

| 3 matches as linesman

Yu Jingyin (China PR)

| 4 matches as linesman

rowspan="2" | CAF

| Fethi Boucetta (Tunisia)

| 2 matches as referee, 2 matches as linesman

Omer Yengo (Congo)

| 2 matches as referee, 1 match as linesman

CONCACAF

| Rafael Rodríguez Medina (El Salvador)

| 3 matches as referee, 2 matches as linesman

rowspan="2" | CONMEBOL

| Salvador Imperatore (Chile)

| 3 matches as referee

John Toro Rendón (Colombia)

| 3 matches as referee, 1 match as linesman

rowspan="3" | UEFA

| Jim McCluskey (Scotland)

| 3 matches as referee, 2 matches as linesman

Vassilios Nikakis (Greece)

| 2 matches as referee, 1 match as linesman

Vadim Zhuk (Soviet Union)

| 3 matches as referee, 1 match as linesman

colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:whitesmoke;" | Female officials
AFC

| Zuo Xiudi (China PR)

| 5 matches as lineswoman

CONCACAF

| María Herrera García (Mexico)

| 3 matches as lineswoman

CONMEBOL

| Cláudia Vasconcelos (Brazil)

| 1 match as referee, 3 matches as lineswoman

OFC

| Linda May Black (New Zealand)

| 5 matches as lineswoman

rowspan="2" | UEFA

| Gertrud Regus (Germany)

| 6 matches as lineswoman

Ingrid Jonsson (Sweden)

| 5 matches as lineswoman

Tournament review

FIFA's technical report demonstrates that, after the tournament, players and officials were undecided whether to persist with 80-minute matches, or to change to 90 minutes in line with men's football. Opinion was also divided about the suitability of using a size five football. Some teams reported difficulty in sourcing good quality equipment in the correct size.{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/08/19/wwc_91_tr_part2_260.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227003624/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/08/19/wwc%5f91%5ftr%5fpart2%5f260.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 December 2011 |title=FIFA Women's World Cup China '91 – Technical Report & Statistics |publisher=FIFA |access-date=20 April 2013}}

The tournament was considered a major success in the quality of play and attendances at the games. FIFA president João Havelange wrote that:{{harvnb|Lopez|1997|p=173}}

{{Cquote|"As president of FIFA it was a special pleasure for me to watch these young ladies playing with such flair and such elegance, and according to the reports of the many media representatives present, making the game truly into a celebration ... women's football is now well and truly established."}}

The perceived success of the tournament was a significant factor in the subsequent inclusion of women's football in the 1996 Summer Olympics.{{harvnb|Lopez|1997|p=175}} Sue Lopez reported that although attendances were very high, many tickets were complimentary. The "novelty factor" of women from foreign lands playing football also encouraged local people to attend.{{harvnb|Lopez|1997|p=207}}

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 14 September 1991 at the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, China. The draw was part of a televised two-hour live show, featuring songs in both Chinese and English from the female singers Zhang Qiang (Beijing), Lin Ping (Guangzhou), Jenny Tseng (Hong Kong) and {{ill|Irene Yeh|zh|葉璦菱}} (Taiwan).{{cite web |url=https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/statistical-kit-the-official-draw-for-the-fifa-women-s-world-cup-france-2019tm.pdf?cloudid=jetdflkk8l5do8ph8p9e |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830183813/https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/statistical-kit-the-official-draw-for-the-fifa-women-s-world-cup-france-2019tm.pdf?cloudid=jetdflkk8l5do8ph8p9e |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 August 2020 |title=Statistical Kit – The Draw for the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 |publisher=FIFA |page=39 |date=6 December 2018 |access-date=8 January 2020}}

Group stage

class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
{{Anchor|Tiebreakers}} Tie-breaking criteria for group play
The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:{{cite book |title=Regulations of the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football 1991 |page=16 |publisher=FIFA |year=1991}}

  1. Points obtained in all group matches (two points for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat);
  2. Goal difference in all group matches;
  3. Number of goals scored in all group matches;
  4. Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
  5. Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question;
  6. Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question;
  7. Number of wins in all group matches;
  8. Drawing of lots.

=Group A=

{{Main|1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A}}

{{1991 FIFA Women's World Cup group tables|Group A|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A|A1}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A|A2}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A|A3}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A|A4}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A|A5}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A|A6}}

=Group B=

{{Main|1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B}}

{{1991 FIFA Women's World Cup group tables|Group B|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B|B1}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B|B2}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B|B3}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B|B4}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B|B5}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B|B6}}

=Group C=

{{Main|1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C}}

{{1991 FIFA Women's World Cup group tables|Group C|only_pld_pts=no_∗hide_class_rules}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C|C1}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C|C2}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C|C3}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C|C4}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C|C5}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C|C6}}

=Ranking of third-placed teams=

{{1991 FIFA Women's World Cup group tables|3rd place}}

Knockout stage

{{Main|1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage}}

=Bracket=

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|Bracket}}

=Quarter-finals=

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|QF1}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|QF2}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|QF3}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|QF4}}

=Semi-finals=

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|SF1}}

----

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|SF2}}

=Third place play-off=

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage|TPP}}

=Final=

{{Main|1991 FIFA Women's World Cup final}}

{{#lst:1991 FIFA Women's World Cup Final|Final}}

Awards

{{See also|FIFA Women's World Cup awards}}

The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:[https://web.archive.org/web/20150616002606/http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/archive/chinapr1991/awards/index.html Awards 1991]

class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align:center;"
style="width:33%"|Golden Ball

!style="width:33%"|Silver Ball

!style="width:33%"|Bronze Ball

{{fbwicon|USA}} Carin Jennings

|{{fbwicon|USA}} Michelle Akers-Stahl

|{{fbwicon|NOR}} Linda Medalen

Golden Shoe

!Silver Shoe

!Bronze Shoe

{{fbwicon|USA}} Michelle Akers-Stahl

|{{fbwicon|GER}} Heidi Mohr

|{{fbwicon|NOR}} Linda Medalen
{{fbwicon|USA}} Carin Jennings

10 goals

|7 goals

|6 goals

colspan="3"|FIFA Fair Play Award
colspan="3"|{{fbw|GER}}

Statistics

=Goalscorers=

{{Goalscorers

|goals=99 |matches=26

|further=Michelle Akers-Stahl of the United States won the Golden Boot award for scoring ten goals.

|10 goals=

|7 goals=

|6 goals=

|5 goals=

|4 goals=

|3 goals=

|2 goals=

|1 goal=

|1 own goal=

}}

=Assists=

{{Goalscorers

|assists=yes

|source=FIFA Technical Report{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/08/19/wwc_91_tr_part2_260.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227003624/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/08/19/wwc%5f91%5ftr%5fpart2%5f260.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 December 2011 |title=FIFA Technical Report |publisher=FIFA}}

|4 assists=

|3 assists=

|2 assists=

|1 assist=

}}

=Tournament ranking=

{{small|Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.}}

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WDL

|update=complete |source=FIFA Technical Report{{cite web |url=https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/282858719d9227c9/original/pcq1fcktjwzzyi2gsm7c-pdf.pdf |title=FIFA Women's World Cup 1991 – Technical Report, Part 2: Final ranking |publisher=FIFA |page=93 (32 of PDF) |access-date=1 July 2019}}

|winpoints=2

|status_CHN=H

|team1=USA |team2=NOR |team3=SWE |team4=GER |team5=CHN |team6=ITA |team7=DEN |team8=TPE |team9=BRA |team10=NGA |team11=NZL |team12=JPN

|win_BRA=1 |draw_BRA=0 |loss_BRA=2 |gf_BRA=1 |ga_BRA=7

|win_CHN=2 |draw_CHN=1 |loss_CHN=1 |gf_CHN=10|ga_CHN=4

|win_TPE=1 |draw_TPE=0 |loss_TPE=3 |gf_TPE=2 |ga_TPE=15

|win_DEN=1 |draw_DEN=1 |loss_DEN=2 |gf_DEN=7 |ga_DEN=6

|win_GER=4 |draw_GER=0 |loss_GER=2 |gf_GER=13|ga_GER=10

|win_ITA=2 |draw_ITA=0 |loss_ITA=2 |gf_ITA=8 |ga_ITA=5

|win_JPN=0 |draw_JPN=0 |loss_JPN=3 |gf_JPN=0 |ga_JPN=12

|win_NZL=0 |draw_NZL=0 |loss_NZL=3 |gf_NZL=1 |ga_NZL=11

|win_NGA=0 |draw_NGA=0 |loss_NGA=3 |gf_NGA=0 |ga_NGA=7

|win_NOR=4 |draw_NOR=0 |loss_NOR=2 |gf_NOR=14|ga_NOR=10

|win_SWE=4 |draw_SWE=0 |loss_SWE=2 |gf_SWE=18|ga_SWE=7

|win_USA=6 |draw_USA=0 |loss_USA=0 |gf_USA=25|ga_USA=5

|name_BRA={{fbw|BRA|1968}}

|name_CHN={{fbw|CHN}}

|name_TPE={{fbw|TPE|football-old}}

|name_DEN={{fbw|DEN}}

|name_GER={{fbw|GER}}

|name_ITA={{fbw|ITA}}

|name_JPN={{fbw|JPN|1947}}

|name_NZL={{fbw|NZL}}

|name_NGA={{fbw|NGA}}

|name_NOR={{fbw|NOR}}

|name_SWE={{fbw|SWE}}

|name_USA={{fbw|USA}}

|show_groups=T

|group_BRA=B

|group_CHN=A

|group_TPE=C

|group_DEN=A

|group_GER=C

|group_ITA=C

|group_JPN=B

|group_NZL=A

|group_NGA=C

|group_NOR=A

|group_SWE=B

|group_USA=B

|res_col_header=Final result

|col_1st=#FFD700 |text_1st=Champions

|col_2nd=#C0C0C0 |text_2nd=Runners-up

|col_3rd=#CD7F32 |text_3rd=Third place

|text_4th=Fourth place

|text_QF=Eliminated in
quarter-finals

|text_GS=Eliminated in
group stage

|split4=yes |split8=yes

|result1=1st |result2=2nd |result3=3rd |result4=4th |result5=QF |result6=QF |result7=QF |result8=QF |result9=GS |result10=GS |result11=GS |result12=GS

}}

See also

  • {{portal-inline|Women's association football}}

References

{{Reflist}}

;General references

{{refbegin}}

  • {{Cite book |last1=Lisi |first1=Clemente Angelo |title=The U.S. Women's Soccer Team: An American Success Story |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2010 |location=Plymouth, England |isbn=978-0-8108-7415-2 }}
  • {{Cite book |last1=Lopez |first1=Sue |author-link=Sue Lopez |title=Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football |publisher=Scarlet Press |year=1997 |location=London, England |isbn=1-85727-016-9 }}

{{refend}}

External links

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20150607210858/http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/archive/chinapr1991/index.html FIFA Women's World Cup China PR 1991], FIFA.com
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20111226232535/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/08/24/wwc%5f91%5ftr%5fpart1%5f261.pdf FIFA Technical Report (Part 1)] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20111227003624/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/afdeveloping/technicaldevp/50/08/19/wwc%5f91%5ftr%5fpart2%5f260.pdf (Part 2)]
  • {{cite web |url=https://larefundaciondotcom.wordpress.com/2018/05/15/ellas-tambien-gambetean-la-historica-y-nada-desvirtuada-primera-copa-mundial-de-futbol-femenino-parte-1/ |title=Ellas también gambetean: La histórica, y nada desvirtuada, primera copa mundial de fútbol femenino |access-date=5 July 2019 |date=15 May 2018 |work=La Refundación |language=es}}

{{1991 FIFA Women's World Cup}}

{{1991 FIFA Women's World Cup finalists}}

{{FIFA Women's World Cup}}

{{1991 FIFA Women's World Cup stadiums}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1991 Fifa Women's World Cup}}

Category:FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments

Category:International women's association football competitions hosted by China

FIFA

Category:1991 in Chinese football

Category:November 1991 sports events in Asia

Category:1991 in Chinese women's sport

Category:Sports competitions in Guangdong

Category:1991 in Guangzhou