A women's football international match was played in Scotland in 1881. Later instances included games between British, French and Belgian teams in the 1920s, and a women's European Championship in 1957. During this time, women's football was often stifled or banned by male-dominated football federations in many countries. In Brazil, women's football was effectively illegal from 1941 until 1979. FIEFF organised a previous Women's World Cup in Italy in 1970, also won by Denmark.
Qualifying
The 1971 tournament featured three different qualifying groups, two in Europe played in April and June 1971, and one in the Americas. Six teams made the final tournament – Mexico, Argentina, England, Denmark, France, and Italy. Four teams were knocked out in qualifying – Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Costa Rica. Some of the qualifiers and finals games were officially recognised – for example, the Italian Football Federation classes all of the 1971 Italy games as full internationals. One of the qualification matches was the first FIFA-recognised women's international match: France beat the Netherlands 4-0 in Hazebrouck in front of 1,500 spectators, to qualify for the finals. However, the match was only recognised by the French Football Federation after it was completed, and the French players did not know they had qualified for the tournament until their coach told them after the game.
Tournament
Tournament sponsors Martini & Rossi paid for each team's travel, accommodation, and kits. Goalposts were painted in pink hoops and stadium staff wore pink clothes, in order to try to appeal to women and families. Ticket prices ranged from 30 pesos to 80 pesos. The tournament mascot was Xochitl, "a young girl in football kit". The opening match of the finals, Mexico–Argentina had a reported attendance of 100,000 at the Azteca Stadium. An estimated 80,000 people attended the Mexico–England group game. The World Cup final, Mexico–Denmark, had an estimated attendance of 110,000, a world record for women's sport. This figure was reported both at the time and subsequently, and surviving footage supports the estimates. The football record at the Azteca Stadium was three years earlier, 119,853 at the men's Mexico–Brazil match in July 1968. The hosts Mexico qualified for the final after defeating Italy in the semifinals. Two days before the final, the Mexican press noted the players for Mexico were unhappy they had not been receiving economic support for participating in the tournament. The Mexican team threatened to skip the final but gave up their two million peso demand and the game went forward as scheduled. Denmark won the tournament after beating Mexico 3–0 in the final, featuring a hat trick by 15-year-old Susanne Augustesen. The victorious Danish team were treated to a celebratory reception at Copenhagen Town Hall upon their return from the tournament. However, due to the unofficial nature of the tournament, it is not recognised by the Danish Football Association.
Squads
England's team included 13-year-old Leah Caleb, 14-year-old Gill Sayell, and 15-year-old Chris Lockwood, while 15-year-old Susanne Augustesen scored a hat-trick for Denmark as they beat Mexico 3–0 in the final. Augustesen was honoured by the mayor of her hometown, Holbæk. 12 members of England's 14-woman squad reunited in June 2019 for the first time since the tournament.
Group stage
Group 1
Group 2
Knockout stage
Bracket
Semi-finals
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Fifth place play-off
A match for fifth place was played between the two teams which did not advance to the semifinals.
Third place play-off
Final
Later tournaments
The tournament was later followed by "the series of Mundialito tournaments throughout the 1980s in Italy, and FIFA's Women's Invitation Tournament in China in 1988" before the first FIFA Women's World Cup in China in 1991.
