The U17 Women’s World Cup is not old. FIFA first instituted the U20 version in 2003, and its success prompted the organization to attempt a facsimile at the U17 level. There had been a men’s version since 1985, but the answer on the women’s side was slow in coming.

Buttressed by the success of the U20 version, the U17 Women’s World Cup was introduced in 2008, thus completing FIFA’s U17/U20 World Cup oeuvre.

It has also become the white whale for the U.S. women’s national team tree.