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| FIFA Women's World Cup qualification | |
|---|---|
| Name | FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
| Organiser | Fédération Internationale de Football Association |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Region | Global |
| Teams | Various (confederation dependent) |
| Current | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification |
FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
FIFA Women's World Cup qualification determines the national teams that advance to the FIFA Women's World Cup finals through continental competitions organized by confederations such as CONCACAF, UEFA, CONMEBOL, AFC, CAF, and OFC. The process has evolved alongside tournaments like the Olympic women's football tournament and competitions such as the SheBelieves Cup and Arnold Clark Cup, reflecting changes in Fédération Internationale de Football Association policy, expansion of the finals, and growth of women's football in nations including United States women's national soccer team, Germany women's national football team, Japan women's national football team and Brazil women's national football team. Qualification impacts global events ranging from the Summer Olympic Games to regional championships like the UEFA Women's Championship and AFC Women's Asian Cup.
Qualification for the Women's World Cup began with invitations and ad hoc selection before formal pathways tied to tournaments like the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup and 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup. Early entrants included established programs such as Norway women's national football team and China women's national football team alongside emerging sides like Nigeria women's national football team and Australia women's national soccer team. The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup expansion and the 2015 decision by FIFA to increase the finals influenced confederation allocations allocated through events such as the CONCACAF Women's Championship, the Copa América Femenina, and the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Changes in policy followed precedents set at tournaments hosted by nations including China, Sweden, United States, Germany, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand.
Confederations implement formats ranging from round-robin group stages to knockout brackets similar to the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds and the Copa Libertadores Femenina structure. In UEFA, qualifying has featured home-and-away group stages feeding into playoff matches like those used in UEFA Euro 2022 qualifying. CONCACAF relies on regional qualification through the CONCACAF Women's Championship with group and knockout phases. AFC integrates qualification into the AFC Women's Asian Cup with preliminary rounds, while CAF has used multi-round home-and-away knockout ties akin to formats in the Africa Cup of Nations qualification. CONMEBOL often uses the Copa América Femenina as its qualifier, and OFC typically determines its entrant via the OFC Women's Nations Cup or regional qualifiers in the manner of other OFC competitions.
Regional tournaments that double as qualifiers include the CONCACAF W Championship, Copa América Femenina, AFC Women's Asian Cup, UEFA Women's Championship (qualifying), CAF Women's Championship (qualification), and the OFC Women's Nations Cup. These events involve football associations from federations such as the JFA-affiliated Japan Football Association, the The Football Association-affiliated England women's national football team, the Brazilian Football Confederation-affiliated Brazil women's national football team, and the South African Football Association-affiliated South Africa women's national football team. Hosts and champions have included nations like Germany, United States, Japan, Norway, and Sweden, with venues managed by associations such as the Australian Professional Leagues and national stadiums like Wembley Stadium and Melbourne Rectangular Stadium used in related tournaments.
Inter-confederation play-offs allocate final berths via mini-tournaments or two-legged ties, drawing participants from UEFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, AFC, CAF, and OFC. The play-off mechanism resembles the intercontinental playoffs used in FIFA World Cup qualification for men, and has involved teams such as Argentina women's national football team, Chile women's national football team, Panama women's national football team, and Jamaica women's national football team. FIFA-organized inter-confederation events have sometimes been staged at neutral venues similar to tournaments like the FIFA Club World Cup.
Participation has broadened from a handful of established teams to record entries from over a hundred member associations including Italy women's national football team, Spain women's national football team, Netherlands women's national football team, France women's national football team, China PR and emerging programs such as Haiti women's national football team and Morocco women's national football team. Allocation of slots per confederation has been influenced by performance metrics, historical success of federations like CONCACAF and UEFA, and FIFA decisions on expansion that affect nations across continents including Oceania and Africa. Debuts and first-time qualifications have featured teams like South Korea women's national football team and North Korea women's national football team.
Statistical records from qualification campaigns include top scorers, most appearances, and longest unbeaten runs by teams including United States women's national soccer team, Germany women's national football team, and Norway women's national football team. Notable individual qualifiers have seen players from clubs such as Olympique Lyonnais Féminin, FC Barcelona Femení, Portland Thorns FC, and Juventus Women lead scoring charts. Qualification attendance records and television metrics have risen alongside landmark achievements by players like Marta, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Birgit Prinz, and Mia Hamm in earlier eras.
Controversies have included disputes over allocation of slots, eligibility issues akin to cases at the Olympic Games and governance questions involving Fédération Internationale de Football Association policy. Developments encompass debates on professionalization following domestic league growth in England, Spain, United States, and France, legal challenges similar to those in Court of Arbitration for Sport proceedings, and reforms inspired by advocacy groups and unions such as national players' associations. Technological and regulatory changes like video assistant referee implementation mirror shifts seen in UEFA competitions and the FIFA Club World Cup, while gender equity and investment discussions link to organizations including UN Women and national sports ministries.
Category:Women's association football