| FIFA World Youth Championship Australia 1981 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Australia |
| Dates | 3–18 October |
| Teams | 16 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 6 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  West Germany (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Qatar |
| Third place |  Romania |
| Fourth place |  England |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Goals scored | 87 (2.72 per match) |
| Attendance | 443,094 (13,847 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Ralf Loose Roland Wohlfarth Taher Abouzaid Mark Koussas(4 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Romulus Gabor |
| Fair play award | Australia |
← 1979 1983 → | |
The 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, the third edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Australia from 3 to 18 October 1981. The tournament took place in across venues in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle and Sydney where a total of 32 matches were played. The championship winner was West Germany, who defeated Qatar 4–0 in a final held at Sydney Cricket Ground. The official mascot was the kookaburra 'Kickaburra'.