1991 FIFA Women's World Cup

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup

1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup
Official logo
Tournament details
Host country	China
Dates	16–30 November
Teams	12 (from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)	6 (in 4 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	United States (1st title)
Runners-up	Norway
Third place	Sweden
Fourth place	Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches played	26
Goals scored	99 (3.81 per match)
Attendance	510,000 (19,615 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Michelle Akers-Stahl (10 goals)
Best player(s)	Carin Jennings
Fair play award	Germany
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.^[1]

It was won by the United States,^[2] 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.^[3] The United States defeated Norway 2–1 in the final in front of a crowd of 63,000 people at Guangzhou's Tianhe Stadium.^[4] 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).^[5]

Guangzhou
Guangdong Provincial Stadium	Tianhe Stadium	Ying Tung Stadium
Capacity: 25,000	Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 15,000
Map of Guangdong with 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup venues marked. Guangzhou Foshan Zhongshan Jiangmen
Foshan	Jiangmen	Zhongshan
New Plaza Stadium	Jiangmen Stadium	Zhongshan Stadium
Capacity: 14,000	Capacity: 13,000	Capacity: 12,000

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.

Africa (CAF)  Nigeria Asia (AFC)  China  Japan  Chinese Taipei South America (CONMEBOL)  Brazil Oceania (OFC)  New Zealand

Europe (UEFA)  Denmark  Germany  Italy  Norway  Sweden North America, Central America & Caribbean (CONCACAF)  United States

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

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.^[6][7]

Confederation	Referee	Appointments[8]
Male officials
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
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
CONMEBOL	Salvador Imperatore (Chile)	3 matches as referee
	John Toro Rendón (Colombia)	3 matches as referee, 1 match as linesman
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
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
UEFA	Gertrud Regus (Germany)	6 matches as lineswoman
	Ingrid Jonsson (Sweden)	5 matches as lineswoman

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.^[9]

The tournament was considered a major success in the quality of play and attendances at the games. FIFA president João Havelange wrote that:^[10]

"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.^[11] 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.^[12]

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 Irene Yeh [zh] (Taiwan).^[13]

Tie-breaking criteria for group play

The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows:[14] Points obtained in all group matches (two points for a win, one for a draw, none for a defeat); Goal difference in all group matches; Number of goals scored in all group matches; Points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question; Goal difference in the matches played between the teams in question; Number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question; Number of wins in all group matches; Drawing of lots.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	China (H)	3	2	1	0	10	3	+7	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Norway	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	4
3	Denmark	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2	3
4	New Zealand	3	0	0	3	1	11	−10	0

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Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	3	3	0	0	11	2	+9	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Sweden	3	2	0	1	12	3	+9	4
3	Brazil	3	1	0	2	1	7	−6	2
4	Japan	3	0	0	3	0	12	−12	0

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Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	3	3	0	0	9	0	+9	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Italy	3	2	0	1	6	2	+4	4
3	Chinese Taipei	3	1	0	2	2	8	−6	2
4	Nigeria	3	0	0	3	0	7	−7	0

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Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	A	Denmark	3	1	1	1	6	4	+2	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	C	Chinese Taipei	3	1	0	2	2	8	−6	2
3	B	Brazil	3	1	0	2	1	7	−6	2

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	24 November – Guangzhou (Tianhe)
	China	0
					27 November – Guangzhou (Ying Tung)
	Sweden	1
					Sweden	1
	24 November – Jiangmen
					Norway	4
	Norway (a.e.t.)	3
									30 November – Guangzhou (Tianhe)
	Italy	2
									Norway	1
	24 November – Zhongshan
									United States	2
	Denmark	1
					27 November – Guangzhou (Provincial)
	Germany (a.e.t.)	2
					Germany	2
	24 November – Foshan
					United States	5			Third place play-off
	United States	7
									29 November – Guangzhou (Provincial)
	Chinese Taipei	0
									Sweden	4
									Germany	0

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The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:^[15]

Golden Ball	Silver Ball	Bronze Ball
Carin Jennings	Michelle Akers-Stahl	Linda Medalen
Golden Shoe	Silver Shoe	Bronze Shoe
Michelle Akers-Stahl	Heidi Mohr	Linda Medalen Carin Jennings
10 goals	7 goals	6 goals
FIFA Fair Play Award
Germany

There were 99 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 3.81 goals per match. 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

4 assists

3 assists

2 assists

1 assist

Source: FIFA Technical Report^[16]

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.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	B	United States	6	6	0	0	25	5	+20	12	Champions
2	A	Norway	6	4	0	2	14	10	+4	8	Runners-up
3	B	Sweden	6	4	0	2	18	7	+11	8	Third place
4	C	Germany	6	4	0	2	13	10	+3	8	Fourth place
5	A	China (H)	4	2	1	1	10	4	+6	5	Eliminated in quarter-finals
6	C	Italy	4	2	0	2	8	5	+3	4
7	A	Denmark	4	1	1	2	7	6	+1	3
8	C	Chinese Taipei	4	1	0	3	2	15	−13	2
9	B	Brazil	3	1	0	2	1	7	−6	2	Eliminated in group stage
10	C	Nigeria	3	0	0	3	0	7	−7	0
11	A	New Zealand	3	0	0	3	1	11	−10	0
12	B	Japan	3	0	0	3	0	12	−12	0

• Women's association football portal

General references

• FIFA Women's World Cup China PR 1991, FIFA.com
• FIFA Technical Report (Part 1) and (Part 2)
• "Ellas también gambetean: La histórica, y nada desvirtuada, primera copa mundial de fútbol femenino". La Refundación (in Spanish). 15 May 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019.