List of FIFA Women's World Cup finals

FIFA Women's World Cup final
A large soccer field seen from the upper stands of a stadium near the rafters; the view is partially obstructed by a railing and other fans. On the field, the flags of Spain and England and a large banner with the Women's World Cup trophy are held for display.
The 2023 final was played at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia.
Organising bodyFIFA
Founded1991; 33 years ago (1991)
RegionInternational
Current champions Spain (1st title)
Most successful team(s) United States (4 titles)

The FIFA Women's World Cup is the international association football championship for women's national teams who represent members of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. It has been contested every four years since 1991 between teams who qualify through continental competitions, alongside the hosts who have an automatic berth.[1] The tournament is one of the most-watched women's sporting events in the world, with a global television audience of over 82.18 million viewers for the 2019 final.[2][3]

Like modern editions of the men's tournament, the FIFA Women's World Cup final is the last match of the competition's knockout stage. The single match is played by the two remaining teams who advanced from the semifinal round and determines the world champions in women's association football.[4] In the event of a draw after 90 minutes of regulation time, an additional 30 minutes of extra time is used to determine a winner. If scores are still tied, a penalty shootout is played until one team wins.[5] Some editions of the tournament allowed for a golden goal in extra time to determine a winner, which was used in the 2003 final.[6][7]

The inaugural edition was hosted by China in 1991 and featured 12 teams playing 80-minute matches. It was preceded by several unofficial world championships, but the 1991 tournament was the first to be organized directly by FIFA. It was known as the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&Ms Cup and retroactively given the World Cup moniker.[8][9] The World Cup expanded to 16 teams in the 1999 edition, which was hosted by the United States and drew record attendances.[10] The 2003 edition was planned to be hosted by China, but moved to the United States due to a major SARS outbreak.[11] An expansion to 24 teams in the 2015 edition was followed by the adoption of the current 32-team format for the 2023 edition, the first with multiple host countries.[10]

A total of ten teams have played in the nine finals held since 1991; five have won a title.[12] The United States is the most successful team in Women's World Cup history, having won four titles in five finals. Germany has two titles and finished as runners-up once; Japan and Norway each have one title and have both finished as runners-up in another final. The most recent tournament, hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2023, was won by Spain; they defeated fellow first-time finalists England in the final, played at Stadium Australia in Sydney.[12][13] The team that wins the final is presented with the FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy, which is kept by FIFA and displayed occasionally on tours or at the FIFA Museum in Zürich, Switzerland. A replica, called the FIFA Women's World Cup Winner's Trophy, is awarded to the winning team and engraved with their name.[5][14]

  1. ^ de Guzman, Chad (21 June 2023). "Your Guide to the 2023 Women's World Cup". Time. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  2. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 watched by more than 1 billion" (Press release). FIFA. 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  3. ^ Robbins, Liz (8 December 2023). "A Record-Breaking 2023 in Sports". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  4. ^ Pope, Conor (15 August 2023). "Women's World Cup 2023: Dates, fixtures, stadiums and everything you need to know". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Regulations, FIFA Women's World Cup 2023" (PDF). FIFA. 22 October 2022. pp. 24–26, 50, 65. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  6. ^ Brockway, Ella (17 July 2023). "What to know about extra time rules at the women's World Cup". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  7. ^ "A golden goal for the history books". FIFA.com. 4 June 2016. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  8. ^ Etoe, Catherine (14 July 2023). "Women's World Cup 2023: Things you probably didn't know about history of tournament". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  9. ^ de Guzman, Chad (23 June 2023). "How the Women's World Cup Evolved Into What It Is Today". Time. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  10. ^ a b Lewis, Russell (23 July 2023). "The Women's World Cup expanded to 32 teams this year. Has the quality suffered?". NPR. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  11. ^ "FIFA pays World Cup compo to China". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 2003. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Spain add their name to list of Women's World Cup winners". FIFA.com. 20 August 2023. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  13. ^ Stokkermans, Karel (20 August 2023). "Women's World Cup". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  14. ^ Brischetto, Patrick (20 April 2023). "Women's World Cup trophy 2023: What it is, what it's made of, and how much it is worth". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.