The United States and Mexico received byes into the tournament. A total of 30 teams entered qualifying, with Martinique and Guadeloupe not eligible for World Cup qualification as they are only members of CONCACAF and not FIFA. Therefore, a total of 28 teams were in contention for the three direct places plus the play-off place against CONMEBOL's Ecuador.[2]Canada did not participate as they already qualified to the World Cup as hosts.
North American Football Union members Mexico and the United States gained direct entry to the final tournament. Canada did not participate as they already qualified to the World Cup as hosts.
The inaugural Women's Caribbean Cup served as the qualifying event.[4] Four nations advanced to the CONCACAF finals.[5] Qualifying to the Women's Caribbean Cup took place from May 23 to June 22. The finals were played in August 2014.[5] The group stage draw was published in April 2014.[6]
Eight teams were divided in two groups and play a round-robin tournament. The top two placed teams advanced to the semifinals. The losers of those semifinals played in the third place match, while the winners faced off in the final. The top three placed teams qualified directly to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
However, as Martinique is not a member of FIFA – since it is an overseas department of the French Republic – it is therefore not eligible to qualify. It was announced during the Final Draw on September 5 that Martinique would not be able to advance beyond the group round, and that the next best team would take their place in the semifinals should they finish in the top two in their group.[7][8]
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[8]
Greater number of points in matches between the tied teams.
Greater goal difference in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points).
Greater number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points).
Greater goal difference in all group matches.
Greater number of goals scored in all group matches.
^Martinique was not able to qualify past the group stage. The next best team in the group would have taken their place if they had finished the group stage in a qualifying position.[11]
In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time is played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.[12]
The top three teams qualified directly to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The fourth placed team advanced to a play-off against the third placed team of the 2014 Copa América Femenina.