Wikipedia:Peer review/1999 FIFA Women's World Cup/archive1

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup

This article has been dramatically expanded in the past week and I hope to bring it up to FA standards in time for its upcoming 20th anniversary, which also coincides with the next Women's World Cup. It's a long read and has passed GA review, so I don't think that it has many small details that have been missed. Thanks for any feedback! SounderBruce 02:19, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Hi Bruce. Huge congratulations for your fantastic work on improving this article out of all recognition. I can only marvel at any editor who can deliver such high quality and quantity in such a short space of time. Hats off to you Sir! After a quick, coffee-fuelled brainstorming session I've had some ideas which may or may not be of any merit and/or assistance. These are set out in no particular order below. Apologies for the rambling length, the incoherent way in which they've been offered up and for any transgressions of the en-US requirement (which doesn't come naturally to a Brit).

1. "The final, played at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles, California, was attended by 90,185 people and set an international record for most spectators to watch a women's sporting event." While this is verifiable via your sources, it is demonstrably not true. And therefore contradicted by other sources, for example [1].
2. "much higher capacities than the stadiums used in the first two tournaments." I know what you are saying here, but, pedantically, it's not correct in every case because the Tianhe Stadium used in '91 and even the Råsunda Stadium used in '95 are/were bigger than some of the '99 venues.
3. Jean Williams's A Beautiful Game p. 22 mentions an American Women's International Soccer organization (WINS) who had apparently been pushing hard for official international tournaments since at least the early 80s, trying to get women's soccer on the card for the '84 Los Angeles Olympics for example. At the time FIFA snuffed them out, suspecting the standard wouldn't be high enough and claiming (ironically!) there was potential for profiteering/corruption. I suppose the 1999 World Cup could be seen as the culmination of an effort started by WINS.
4. Suspicions of US bias/cheating - Scurry was way off her line in the PSO "It's only cheating if you get caught" was her rather distasteful boast. Fan Yunjie's header in sudden death also crossed the goal line but the officials incorrectly failed to award the goal. The Chinese toned down their protests partly due to the political backdrop - Yanks bombing Chinese Embassy in Belgrade - mindful perhaps of their status as role models and wanting to be seen as demure, feminine etc. The Chinese still nursed a grievance over the 1996 Olympic final, in which the USA's winning goal had been offside. [2]
5. China won the 1999 Algarve Cup beating USA after defeats in 96 and 98 Goodwill Games finals. Going into the 1999 WC they had "finally shed the bridesmaid tag" per Official Program p.67
6. Donna de Varona penned a chapter in Hong and Mangan's Soccer, Women, Sexual Liberation. Although it was a bit highbrow for the likes of me, some highlights included:
   • That the WNBA were persuaded to not only reschedule fixtures to avoid clashes with WC matches but actively promote them during their TV broadcasts
   • Billie Piper's rousing toe-tapper Because We Want To was the Tournament 'Official Song'.
   • The USSF's profits from the 1994 men's World Cup funded the 1999 World Cup
   • The women's WC were saddled with FIFA's official sponsors, labelled "deadbeat" by De Varona who was frustrated she couldn't dump them for commercial partners who had any interest/commitment: "Therefore our financial success came only as a result of ticket sales".
7. In the classic Brazil-Nigeria QF, Ann Agumanu-Chiejine got subbed off before half-time, after her uncharacteristically shambolic performance put Nigeria 3-0 down
8. Perhaps explain a bit more about American women's soccer pre-eminence - something, something soccer mom something, something Title IX ? Not sure how to shoehorn this in and ensure it's kept directly relevant to the tournament.
9. Legacy - I think the following year the '99ers' wanted a bigger slice of the pie and there was an industrial dispute (I remember writing some articles about WUSA players who got caps in 2000 while the regulars Mia Hamm et al were in high dudgeon).
10. Battered warhorse Michelle Akers no longer led the line as she had in the Triple-Edged Sword, but was playing as a combative defensive midfielder. She retired from international football after the tournament.
11. The Clintons were apparently "Honorary Co-Chairs" and didn't just turn up at the QF off their own bat
12. An interesting (to me anyway) curio: 91er Wendy Gebauer played in the men's professional A-League (1995–2004) in May 1999 according to WRAL-TV. "Not a stunt" it claimed, unconvincingly, "but rather a way to celebrate the upcoming Women's World Cup".
13. Sue Lopez Women on the Ball p.167: "The lack of a successful men's national team has left a void which the successful women's national team has been happy to fill. The only downside is that for some it confirms the status of soccer as a game best suited to women while gridiron football is for 'real' men."

If I think of any more ideas I'll fire them up later ("Please don't!" I hear you cry...). I'd be happy if any are deemed worthy of inclusion, or if they can spark any other suggestions for potential additions. Thanks, Bring back Daz Sampson (talk) 13:53, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

Woah, that's a lot of great information. I had planned on saving the Chinese claims and a few of the USWNT-specific details for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final article, as the main article needs to kept trimmed in summary style. As for the attendance claims, I'll have to review sources from the time, as attendance was not counted with accuracy in mind for much of the sport's history. Will also work on finding suitable sources for the other facts you mentioned...the WNBA scheduling is especially interesting and could be worth an alternate DYK hook. SounderBruce 21:24, 18 May 2019 (UTC)

@Bring back Daz Sampson: By coincidence, the U.S. soccer podcast series I'm listening to includes interviews with Williams. SounderBruce 02:02, 19 May 2019 (UTC)