Interesting facts about the women's world cup

Format and number of women's teams competing

The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international football tournament organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for the women's national teams of FIFA member countries. The tournament has been held every four years since 1991. The tournament in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 will be the 9th Women's World Cup.

All about the history of the Women's World Cup

Under the current format, the finals will feature 32 teams. 2023 will also be the first time FIFA will use a 32-team format for the Women's World Cup.

Previously, in the first two Women's World Cups in 1991 and 1995, the number of teams participating in the final round stopped at only 12.

The next four Women's World Cups in 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011 increased the number of participating teams to 16.

Then at the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cups, FIFA increased the number of participating teams to 24 in the hope of giving more teams the opportunity to compete on the world stage.

The past 8 World Cups have seen 4 teams win the title. The US is the most successful team with 4 championships. Germany is next with 2 trophies. Norway and Japan each have 1 championship.

Differences from the Men's World Cup

Top 5 candidates to win the 2023 Women's World Cup

There are certain interesting contrasts between men's and women's football.

While the Chinese and North Korean women’s teams are always highly regarded, their male players are rather obscure. On the other hand, while the Brazilian men have won the World Cup five times, their female players have never been crowned champions. Meanwhile, the US men’s team has never been considered a world-class team, but the US women’s team is the real “queen”.

Name of the tournament

Throughout its history, the women's world tournament has changed its name several times. It was first called the "1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup" in 1991, and then officially called the "FIFA Women's World Cup" from 1995 to the present. In Vietnam, the tournament is called the "Women's World Cup" or more commonly the "Women's World Cup".

Design of the championship trophy

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The current trophy is designed in the form of a spiral band, surrounding a ball at the top, to celebrate the sportiness , dynamism and elegance of international women's football. In 2010, the trophy was equipped with a conical base. The base is engraved with the names of each winning team of the tournament. The trophy is 47 cm high, weighs 4.6 kg and is made of sterling silver coated with 23-karat white and yellow gold, with an estimated value in 2015 of around $30,000.

Since 2007, the "FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONS" badge has been printed on the winning team's jersey until the winner of the next tournament is revealed.

Host of the tournament

Examining the strength of the 3 opponents of the Vietnamese women's team: USA, Netherlands, Portugal at the 2023 World Cup

Including the 2023 World Cup, the tournament has been held in eight different countries. China and the United States have each hosted twice, while Sweden, Germany, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand have each hosted once.

The selection of the host for the tournament is carried out according to a uniform procedure. Countries/territories expressing their desire to host the event must submit an application and a formal bid to FIFA. A designated inspection team is then sent to the country to determine whether the country/territory meets the necessary requirements in terms of facilities, technical infrastructure, transport systems, etc. to host the event and a report on the host is issued. The decision on where the tournament will be held is usually announced four or five years in advance after a vote by the FIFA Council.

The 2023 Women's World Cup has been chosen as the host countries for the tournament, Australia and New Zealand. This will be the first Women's World Cup to be held in two countries and the first time that 32 teams will participate. 64 matches will be played in 9 host cities.

Women's World Cup Awards

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After each World Cup, awards are given to the players and teams with the best performances. There are currently five awards:

1. The Ballon d'Or award for Best Player, determined by votes from reporters.

2. Golden Boot Award for the top scorer of the tournament.

3. Golden Glove Award for Best Goalkeeper, decided by the FIFA Technical Study Group.

4. Best Young Player Award for the best young player under 21 years old.

5. Fair Play Award for the Team with the most fair play, based on points and criteria of the FIFA Fair Play Sub-Committee.

Personal records

Top 10 stars to watch at the 2023 Women's World Cup

In terms of individual records, Brazil legend Marta Vieira is the top scorer in the history of the Women's World Cup with 17 goals in the past 5 World Cups. The 37-year-old star has also just confirmed that the 2023 tournament will be the last World Cup of her career.

Another Brazilian legend, Formiga holds the record for the most appearances by a player at the Women's World Cup, with seven, from 1995 to 2019, with 24 appearances. The 45-year-old legend retired from international football after Brazil's women's team were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Formiga, however, is not the player with the most appearances at the Women's World Cup. That is Kristine Lilly of the US women's team with 30 matches. The 51-year-old legend won the tournament in 1999, as well as two gold medals at the Olympics in 1996 and 2004.

Historic tournament of Vietnamese women's football

FIFA praises Vietnam women's team on homepage ahead of World Cup

The 2023 Women's World Cup will be a historic tournament for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team in particular and Vietnamese football in general. The tournament will take place in about 2 weeks with the opening match between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway on July 20.

According to the match schedule, the Vietnamese women's team will meet the US women's team on July 22, the Portuguese women's team on July 27 and the Dutch women's team on August 1.

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