The 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fourth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Florence, Montecatini Terme, Viareggio, Massa, Carrara, and Livorno in Italy between 16 and 31 August 1991. Players born after 1 August 1974 could participate in this tournament.
Saudi Arabia, the 1989 champions, were not able to defend their title as they withdrew from the final round of the AFC qualifying tournament, citing the Blue Diamond Affair.
The tournament was originally to be scheduled in Ecuador, but due to the cholera outbreak earlier that year, it was moved to Italy, which hosted the previous year's World Cup. This was the second time a FIFA event was moved from its original hosting country, after the 1986 World Cup was moved from Colombia to Mexico.
For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship squads
Asia
Africa
CONCACAF
South America
Europe
Oceania
Venue: Carrara
Venue: Massa
Venue: Livorno
Adriano of Brazil won the Golden Shoe award for scoring four goals. In total, 81 goals were scored by 59 different players, with only one of them credited as own goals.