OFC Women’s Nations Cup 1991

The fourth edition of the OFC Women’s Nations Cup took place in 1991 and was held in Sydney, Australia, with all matches played at Marconi Park. For the first time in tournament history, it also doubled as OFC qualification for the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in China. The event consisted of just three teams, including hosts Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.

Defending two-time champions Chinese Taipei had left the OFC to join the Asian Football Confederation in 1989, and did not participate. All teams played each other twice in a round-robin format, with the top side claiming the OFC Women’s Nations Cup title and qualifying for the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup™. Australia and New Zealand again proved evenly matched throughout the tournament, splitting the two matches played between each other with a 1-0 win apiece. As such, the destination of the title was decided by either side’s winning margins against Papua New Guinea.

New Zealand picked up 16-0 and 11-0 victories, whilst Australia could only muster 12-0 and 8-0 wins over Papua New Guinea. Having scored seven goals more than their Trans-Tasman rivals, New Zealand claimed their second OFC Women’s Nations Cup title and qualified for the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup™. New Zealand’s Wendy Sharpe also finished as the tournament’s top scorer with eight goals, after scoring two hat-tricks across round-robin play.