History Of The Fifa Women's World Cup

The FIFA Women's World Cup appeared on the sporting calendar over 60 years after the male equivalent. The United States, which has one of the world's strongest women's soccer presence, traditionally performs well in the World Cup competition. Like the men's World Cup, the women's tournament takes place every four years, usually in a different country each time.

Origins

Before FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, arranged an official Women's World Cup, several unofficial tournaments took place, according to the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. For example, Italy hosted the Women's Mundialito in 1982, and Taiwan held the Women's World Invitation Tournament in 1987. FIFA even created an experimental tournament in 1988 called the Women's Invitation Tournament. The first FIFA Women's World Cup took place in China in 1991. Joao Havelange -- the FIFA president at the time -- took on the challenge of creating an official women's tournament. The event featured 12 teams with the United States and Norway reaching the final. The United States beat Norway, 2-1, to win the first Women's World Cup.

Tournaments

Sweden hosted the second Women's World Cup in 1995, with previous runner-up Norway taking the title. FIFA agreed to increase the number of teams to 16 for the next tournament in the United States in 1999 -- which the Americans went on to win. Concerns over the SARS virus outbreaks in China meant that the 2003 tournament stayed in America. However, the United States could not retain its title, with the cup going to Germany. The tournament finally made it to China in 2007, where Germany succeeded in defending its trophy.

Format and Awards

Each tournament follows the same format as the men's World Cup, with early round-robin group stages followed by knockout rounds to the final. As well as the overall trophy, each tournament has awards for individual players. The Adidas Golden Ball is presented to the best player of the tournament, while the player with the most tournament goals receives the Golden Shoe. The team with the fewest yellow and red cards receives the Fair Play Award.

Controversy and Sepp Blatter

Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA in 2010, created some controversy with his opinions on women's football. In 2004, he drew criticism for saying the women's game would be more popular if the players wore revealing outfits. Blatter also criticized the opening result from the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup as "not good" for football. In the game, Germany beat Argentina, 11-0.

Future

As of 2010, the next FIFA Women's World Cup will be in Germany in 2011. The tournament also looks set to increase in size. During a meeting in South Africa, FIFA delegates agreed to raise the amount of participating teams from 16 to 24. This new team number will start with the 2015 event.