The Federation of Independent European Female Football (French: Fédération Internationale Européenne de Football Féminine, also referred to by its acronym FIEFF) was an administrative body for women's association football in Europe and later globally. Privately funded by the backers of professional Italian women's clubs, FIEFF organised Italian-based tournaments in 1969 and 1970, then a World Cup hosted in Mexico in 1971. The tournaments attracted sponsors including Martini & Rossi and were a commercial success. The governing body of male football in Europe, Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA), took a hostile approach to FIEFF's activities and exerted pressure on the national associations to curb what they saw as unaffiliated women's football. In 1969 UEFA had issued an edict instructing its member associations to take control of women's football within their territories.