HistoryThe Women's World Cup was originally the brainchild of the then FIFA president João Havelange. The inaugural tournament was hosted in China in 1991, with twelve teams sent to represent their countries. In 1999 the tournament was expanded to 16 teams and was hosted in the USA, who went on to win it themselves for the second time in the Rose Bowl, California in front of a crowd of 90,185; a world record for a women's sporting event. 16 teams remained the norm until 2015 when the seventh edition of the tournament was expanded to 24 countries.
All-time PerformanceFull List of national team appearances in the WWC, ranking, stats, and recordsQualified Teams:CAF - Nigeria and Cameroon qualified after triumphs over South Africa and Côte d'Ivoire, respectively, in the CAF African Women's Championship semifinals. Côte d'Ivoire rounded out the trio headed to Canada by finishing third after beating South Africa 1-0.
Squads:
Cameroon,
Côte d'Ivoire,
NigeriaAFC - The AFC Women’s Asian Cup was used for AFC qualifying. Korea Republic, China PR, Japan and Australia reached the semifinals to book their place in Canada, while Thailand won a play-off against Vietnam to qualify.
Squads:
Australia,
China PR,
Japan,
Korea Republic,
ThailandUEFA - Switzerland and England became the first two European nations to qualify after their successful campaigns during the European qualifiers played between September 2013 and September 2014. Norway, Germany, Spain, France and Sweden followed suit. Italy, Netherlands, Scotland and Ukraine met in the play-offs for the final European ticket. Netherlands were the eventual winners after first beating Scotland and then Italy in double-legged ties.
Squads:
England,
France,
Germany,
Netherlands,
Norway,
Spain,
Sweden,
SwitzerlandCONCACAF - United States and Costa Rica qualified after reaching the semifinal fixtures of the CONCACAF Women's Championship. Costa Rica took down Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 on penalties after it was tied 1-1 after extra time, while USA handled Mexico 3-0. Mexico earned the final automatic berth after beating Trinidad and Tobago 4-2 in the match for third place.
Squads:
Canada,
Costa Rica,
Mexico,
USAOFC - Oceania’s qualifying competition, the OFC Women's Nations Cup, took place in Lae, Papua New Guinea. New Zealand topped the four-nation tournament - which also featured Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Cook Islands
Squads:
New ZealandCONMEBOL - All ten CONMEBOL member associations participated in The Copa America Femenina. Brazil and Colombia booked their place in Canada, while Ecuador defeated Trinidad and Tobago, fourth-place finishers from CONCACAF, 1-0 on aggregate in an intercontinental play-off for the last qualification spot.
Squads:
Brazil,
Colombia,
Equador2015 Host - CanadaFIFA's decision on who hosted was an easy one after they only received two bids by the December 2010 deadline, Canada and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, who were unlikely to be successful in their attempt anyway, withdrew from the process three months after submitting their bid. Rather than reopen the bidding process and invite more potential hosts, FIFA awarded the tournament straight to Canada.
Venues - The cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton have been selected to host tournament matches. Toronto decided not to bid, due to potential conflicts with the 2015 Pan American Games.
Edmonton - Commonwealth Stadium (Semifinal & 3rd Place Play-off Venue)
Moncton - Moncton Stadium
Montreal - Olympic Stadium (Semifinal Venue)
Ottawa - TD Place Stadium
Vancouver - BC Place (Final Venue)
Winnipeg - Investors Group Field