SheBelieves Cup

SheBelieves Cup
Organizing bodyUnited States Soccer Federation
Founded2016; 8 years ago (2016)
Region United States
Number of teams4
Current champion(s) United States (7th title)
Most successful team(s) United States (7 titles)
WebsiteOfficial website
2024 SheBelieves Cup

The SheBelieves Cup is an invitational women's association football tournament held in different cities in the United States in late February or early March. In its first three years (2016, 2017, and 2018), it was contested by the same four teams: the United States, England, France, and Germany. Since 2019, the tournament lineup has featured different teams each year. For 2024, due to the change in FIFA competition windows and the staging of the Concacaf W Gold Cup in February and March, the format of the SheBelieves Cup was changed. While there were still four participants, there were four matches instead of the usual six and the teams only played semifinals, a third-place match and the championship game.[1]

The SheBelieves cup is played at the same time of year as the Algarve Cup, the Arnold Clark Cup, the Cup of Nations, the Cyprus Women's Cup, the Istria Cup, the Pinatar Cup, the Tournoi de France, the Turkish Women's Cup and the Women's Revelations Cup.

History

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The SheBelieves movement was inspired by the U.S. national team in their 2015 run-up to the World Cup. The movement is meant to encourage young women to achieve their dreams, regardless of whether or not they are tied to athletics. As part of regular society, SheBelieves is dedicated to women's empowerment. This theme of empowerment has evolved into a bond between U.S. soccer and its fans, as the team has spread this message to communities across the country. United States Soccer serves as SheBelieves Ambassadors, launching a new program to unite and elevate nonprofits, women's sports organizations, and influencers with the shared goal of positively impacting girls and women.[2]

SheBelieves Summit

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The SheBelieves Summit, which took place virtually in 2021, is a major component of programming around the tournament itself. Its purpose is to empower young women and girls using the three core pillars of SheBelieves: confidence, career, and community.[3] The summit includes panels, fireside chats, and breakout sessions designed to provide event attendees with hands-on experience and tools for success.[3] Event programming features various female speakers, from women in STEM to professional athletes.[4]

In its third year, some notable speakers for the 2021 event included:[4]

Tournament format

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The four invited teams play in a round-robin tournament. Points awarded in the group stage followed the formula of three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. A tie in points would be decided by goal differential; other tie-breakers are used as needed in the following order: goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head result, and a fair play score based on the number of yellow and red cards.

Results

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# Year Winner Runner-up Third place Fourth place Teams
1 2016
United States

Germany

England

France
4
2 2017
France

Germany

England

United States
4
3 2018
United States

England

France

Germany
4
4 2019
England

United States

Japan

Brazil
4
5 2020
United States

Spain

England

Japan
4
6 2021
United States

Brazil

Canada

Argentina
4
7 2022
United States

Iceland

Czech Republic

New Zealand
4
8 2023
United States

Japan

Brazil

Canada
4
9 2024
United States

Canada

Brazil

Japan
4

Medals

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 United States (USA)7108
2 England (ENG)1135
3 France (FRA)1012
4 Germany (GER)0202
5 Brazil (BRA)0123
6 Canada (CAN)0112
 Japan (JPN)0112
8 Iceland (ISL)0101
 Spain (ESP)0101
10 Czech Republic (CZE)0011
Totals (10 entries)99927

Nations

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Team 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Years
 United States 1st 4th 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 9
 Argentina 4th 1
 Brazil 4th 2nd 3rd 3rd 4
 Canada 3rd 4th 2nd 3
 Czech Republic 3rd 1
 England 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st 3rd 5
 France 4th 1st 3rd 3
 Germany 2nd 2nd 4th 3
 Iceland 2nd - 1
 Japan 3rd 4th 2nd 4th 4
 New Zealand 4th 1
 Spain 2nd 1
Total (12) 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 _

Summary

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Rank Team Part M W D L GF GA GD Points
1  United States 9 26 19 5 2 47 15 +32 62
2  England 5 15 5 3 7 17 16 +1 18
3  France 3 9 3 3 3 10 8 +2 12
4  Brazil 4 11 5 0 6 12 15 −3 11
5  Germany 3 9 3 2 4 7 10 −3 11
6  Canada 3 8 4 0 4 6 11 −5 8
7  Japan 4 11 2 2 7 12 18 −6 8
8  Spain 1 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6
9  Iceland 1 3 2 0 1 3 6 −3 6
10  Czech Republic 1 3 0 2 1 1 2 −1 2
11  New Zealand 1 3 0 1 2 0 6 −6 1
12  Argentina 1 3 0 0 3 1 11 −10 0

Best player

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Year Player
2016 United States Alex Morgan
2017 France Camille Abily
2020 Spain Alexia Putellas
2021 United States Rose Lavelle
2022 United States Catarina Macario
2023 United States Mallory Swanson
2024 United States Sophia Smith

Top goalscorers

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Rank Name Total
1 United States Mallory Swanson 8
2 United States Megan Rapinoe 7
3 England Ellen White 5
United States Alex Morgan
5 Brazil Debinha 4
United States Christen Press
7 France Eugénie Le Sommer 3
8 Canada Vanessa Gilles 2
Canada Adriana Leon
England Toni Duggan
England Beth Mead
France Camille Abily
Germany Anja Mittag
Japan Mana Iwabuchi
Japan Yuka Momiki
Spain Lucía García
Spain Alexia Putellas
United States Tobin Heath
United States Carli Lloyd
United States Catarina Macario
United States Kristie Mewis
United States Sophia Smith

References

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  1. ^ "Ninth annual Shebelieves cup will open on april 6 in Atlanta". www.ussoccer.com.
  2. ^ "SheBelieves | U.S. Soccer Official Website". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "U.S. Soccer 2021 SheBelieves Summit, Presented by Deloitte, to Take Place on February 11 and 12". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "SheBelieves Summit 2021 Panels". U.S. Soccer. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
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