| Tourney Name: | FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Other Titles: | Copa Mundial Femenina Sub-17 de la FIFA Costa Rica 2014 |
| Country: | Costa Rica |
| Num Teams: | 16 |
| Confederations: | 6 |
| Venues: | 4 |
| Cities: | 4 |
| Count: | 1 |
| Matches: | 32 |
| Goals: | 113 |
| Top Scorer: | Deyna Castellanos Gabriela García (6 goals each) |
| Player: | Hina Sugita |
| Goalkeeper: | Mamiko Matsumoto |
| Prevseason: | 2012 |
| Nextseason: | 2016 |
The 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the youth association football tournament for women under the age of 17. The final tournament was hosted in Costa Rica.
The competition was played from 15 March to 4 April 2014.[1] Japan beat Spain in the final 2–0, the same score the same match ended in the group stage. Japan emerged as the fourth different champion in four editions.
The opening match of the tournament set a new tournament record with 34,453 spectators. In total, 284,320 supporters attended matches, averaging 8,885 per match and beating the 2012 record.[2]
On 3 March 2011, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in Costa Rica. There were six official bids.[3]
Hosting rights were then stripped on 28 February 2013 due to problems in stadium construction.[4] After receiving guarantees from both CONCACAF and the Costa Rican government, they were re-instated as hosts at an executive committee meeting in Zurich on 21 March 2013.[5] The final was originally scheduled on 5 April, but was brought forward one day due to government elections.[6]
The official mascot of the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was Juna, a blue morpho butterfly. The name Juna means "to fly" in the Cabécar language.[7]
The official theme song for the tournament was "Pasión Total" by F.A.N.S.[8]
The slot allocation was approved by the FIFA Executive Committee in May 2012.[9] [10] The Oceania Football Confederation qualifying tournament was scheduled for January 2014, FIFA however decided that it would be hosted too late then. Eventually FIFA and OFC in agreement with all member nations agreed to award the confederation spot to New Zealand. Just as New Zealand, Nigeria qualified without playing a match because two opponents withdrew their respective qualifying games. Defending champions France did not qualify.
In total 103 nations took part in the qualifying, three less than for the 2012 World Cup.[11]
1.Teams that made their debut.
Four stadiums in four cities are to be used across Costa Rica.[14]
| Alajuela | Liberia | |
|---|---|---|
| Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto | Estadio Edgardo Baltodano Briceño | |
| Capacity: 16,625 | Capacity: 4,300 | |
| San José | Tibás | |
| Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica | Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá | |
| Capacity: 34,453 | Capacity: 21,704 | |
A total of 14 referees, 4 reserve referees, and 28 assistant referees were appointed by FIFA for the tournament.[15]
| Confederation | Referees | Assistant referees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC |  Fusako Kajiyama Pannipar KamnuengAbirami Apbai Naidu (reserve) | Emi Chiba Kim Kyoung-min Lee Seul-gi Saori Takahashi | |
| CAF | Aissata Ameyo Amegee Gladys Lengwe (reserve) | Ayawa Mana Dzodope Lidwine Pelagie Rakotozafinoro | |
| CONCACAF |  Miriam Patricia Leon Serpas Cardella Samuels Lucila Venegas MontesMarianela Ayala Cruz (reserve) | Emperatriz Ivonne Ayala Lopez Princess Brown Enedina Caudillo Gomez Lixy Esperanza Enriquez Guerrero Stacy-Ann Greyson Kimberly Moreira Rojas | |
| CONMEBOL |  Ana Karina Marques Valentin Alves Silvia Elizabeth Reyes JuarezMaria Belen Carvajal Peña (reserve) | Luciana Elizabeth Mascaraña Katiuscia Mayer Berger Mendonça Rossana Mabel Salinas Garcia Nadia Maria Macarena Weiler Figueredo | |
| OFC |  Anna-Marie Keighley | Nagarita Jimmy Lata I Sia Kaumatule | |
| UEFA |  Jana Adámková  Katalin Kulcsár Pernilla Larsson Kateryna Monzul Carina Vitulano | Ourania Foskolou Helen Karo Panagiota Koutsoumpou Judit Kulcsár Angela KyriakouSian Massey  Yolanda Parga Rodriguez Lucie RatajováSanja Rodak Karsic  Maria Sukenikova |
See main article: 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup squads.
Each team must name a squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline.[10] The squads were announced on 6 March 2014.[16]
The group stage draw was held on 17 December 2013 in Pueblo Antiguo.[17] [18] Confederation champions Germany, Japan and Mexico were put in Pot 1 alongside the hosts Costa Rica, who were automatically assigned to Position A1. The draw then made sure no teams of the same confederation could meet in the group stage.[19]
The winners and runners-up of each group advance to the quarter-finals. The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows:[10]
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:
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In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, the match is determined by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).[10]
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The following awards were given for the tournament:[21]