Each group plays a round-robin tournament, in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. In the group stage, teams are drawn into groups of four teams each. There are two stages: the group stage followed by the knockout stage. The final tournament has featured between 12 and 32 national teams competing over about one month in the host nation(s). Since the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, the number of finalists increased from 16 to 24 and now 32. Except for the UEFA, other confederations organize its qualification campaign throughout continental tournaments. The hosts of the World Cup receive an automatic berth in the finals. For each tournament, FIFA decides beforehand the number of berths awarded to each of the continental zones, based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams. Qualifying tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), and are organized by their respective confederations: Confederation of African Football (CAF), Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football ( CONCACAF), South American Football Confederation ( CONMEBOL), Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). Main article: FIFA Women's World Cup qualification The 2023 competition was hosted by Australia and New Zealand, making it the first edition to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first Women's World Cup to be hosted by two countries, as well as the first FIFA competition for either men or women to be held across two confederations. China and the United States have each hosted the tournament twice, while Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, and Sweden have each hosted it once. The other winners are Germany, with two titles, and Japan, Norway, and Spain with one title each.Įight countries have hosted the Women's World Cup. The nine FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments have been won by five national teams. The tournament, called the World Cup Finals, is contested at venues within the host nation(s) over about one month. The host nation's team is automatically entered as the first slot. Under the tournament's current format, national teams vie for the remaining 31 slots in a three-year qualification phase. The competition has been held every four years and one year after the men's FIFA World Cup since 1991, when the inaugural tournament, then called the FIFA Women's World Championship, was held in China. The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing body.

World cup schedule china time zone