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 number of member countries has doubled as lacrosse has spread.

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. The 2005 IFWLA World Cup was hosted by US Lacrosse in Annapolis, Md., while the 2009 World Cup, now under the direction of the FIL, was in Prague, Czech Republic.

IFWLA World Championship History
Year	Champion	Runner-up	Championship Game Score	Site
1982	U.S.	Australia	10-7 (extra time)	Nottingham, England
1986	Australia	U.S.	10-7	Philadelphia, Pa. (U.S.)
1989	U.S.	England	6-5 (sudden death)	Perth. Australia
1993	U.S.	England	4-1	Edinburgh, Scotland
1997	U.S.	Australia	3-2 (sudden death)	Tokyo, Japan
2001	U.S.	Australia	14-8	High Wycombe, England
2005	Australia	U.S.	14-7	Annapolis, Md. (U.S)
2009	U.S.	Australia	8-7	Prague, Czech Republic