By the mid-1980s, the IIHF was coming under substantial pressure to formally codify a consistent set of rules and structures for women's game but failed to do so, leading to calls for the formation of a separate women's international ice hockey federation. However, International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch informed the IIHF that the IOC would not communicate with separate federations. The 1990 IIHF Women's World Championship was the first IIHF-sanctioned international tournament in women's ice hockey, 70 years after the first men's World Championship was held. The tournament suffered a number of issues, including Rider organising the tournament with no financial support from the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association, and Team Canada wearing infamous pink jerseys as a marketing decision. The location of the tournament was chosen five months before it started, and priority for ice-time was given to the junior men's Ottawa 67s team, meaning that sale of tickets only began a few weeks before the start of the championship.