The International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations(IFWLA) was formed in 1972 to promote and develop the game of women’s lacrosse throughout the world. Inaugural members were Australia, England, Scotland, Wales and the United States.

The IFWLA World Cup started in 1982 as an international lacrosse tournament that is held every four years, except in 1989 when it had only been three years since the 1986 IFWLA World Championship. The first World Cup was hosted in Nottingham, England. The United States team has won every World Cup except 1986 and 2005 where it finished second behind Australia.

In August 2008 the IFWLA merged with the International Lacrosse Federation (which had overseen men's international Lacrosse) to form the Federation of Internationl Lacrosse. As of 2010, the FIL had 26 full member nations and 11 associate members. The first sanctioned FIL world championship was the 2009 World Cup, which was won by the United States in the Czech Republic.

World Cup Championship History