In which year did the FIFA Women’s World Cup make its debut?

1991 was an important year for women’s football, putting it firmly on the world stage. It likely would now surprise many to learn that this was the year of the first Women’s World Cup, held in Japan.

Nowadays, there’s a myriad of coverage both domestic and international, but even in recent history that hasn’t been the case. Some would say that it’s pushed too much (or is cheaper to broadcast than men’s football, so highlighted for that reason), but there’s little reason why football shouldn’t be a sport for all, and the increased attention paid can certainly be a catalyst to lift standards of, and interest in, the game.

With increased coverage comes a focus on in-form teams both domestic and international and takes on who will win in any particular clash. A YouGov study from last year found that 60% of those who engage in sports betting actively follow the women’s game.

The 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup, took place in Guangdong, China and consisted of twelve nations vying for success on the world stage. There were:

Nigeria
China
Japan
Chinese Taipei
Brazil
New Zealand
Denmark
Germany
Italy
Norway
Sweden
United States

 

Matches were 80 minutes instead of the men’s 90 minute games, though that has since changed. The tournament captured significant attention from around the world and set a foundation from which has been built upon ever since. There have been eight tournaments since held in places such as Sweden, United States, Germany, Canada, Australia/New Zealand (jointly held). Speaking to the growing success of women’s football is the fact that in 2015 the Women’s World Cup final saw the most watched soccer match in American history – 23 million viewers. America certainly has a fondness for the womens game (there’s long been the idea of the ‘soccer mom’), which is likely why they’ve performed so well, in winning four out of the nine touraments  held so far.

The debut of the FIFA Women’s World Cup most certainly put the women’s game on the map and has expanded both the draw and inclusion of the beautiful game. In England where women’s football is also popular (with England women’s team making the final of the 2023 World Cup and winning the 2022 Women’s Euros) female footballers like Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, and Jill Scott are now household names.

In many ways, on the International level at least, the women’s and men’s games complement each other well and can take inspiration from each others successes. Most likes to see their nations teams do well on the international stage and so gender shouldn’t really come into it on that level.