Switzerland obtained the organization of the Women’s Euro 2025 on Tuesday in Lisbon, UEFA having opted for the Swiss candidacy at the expense of the Nordic favorites (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) and France, weighed down as expected by the incidents on the sidelines of the Champions League final in 2022 and the crisis at the FFF. The choice of Switzerland, which succeeds England, host and winner of the European Championship in 2022, is certainly a small surprise, but the country was still a serious outsider due to its geographical position in the center of the continent.
It has also never hosted a Women’s Euro on its soil, which undoubtedly played in its favor against the Nordic quartet, well off in this area (Norway in 1987 then in 1997 with Sweden, Denmark in 1991, Finland in 2009 and Sweden in 2013). The 31 meetings scheduled for June and July 2025 will take place in eight cities (Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, Saint-Gall, Sion, Lucerne, Thun) and Switzerland will be able to count on the expertise acquired in 2008 when it had hosted the Men’s Euro with Austria.
“Sustainable development and circular economy”
“Our main argument was the organization of a tournament based on sustainable development and the circular economy, declared Dominique Blanc, the president of the Swiss Football Federation. This is one of the last sporting events that a country of the size of Switzerland can organize alone. There was also great public and political support. The ease of travel also worked in our favour.” “Women’s football is growing strongly in Switzerland,” continued the leader who claims 31,000 licensees out of a total of nearly 250,000 practitioners.
The defeat of France, on the other hand, was predictable. Successful organizer of the Women’s World Cup in 2019, it undoubtedly suffered from the fiasco of the Champions League final at the Stade de France on May 28, 2022 between Real Madrid and Liverpool, but also from the crisis at the Federation. French football, which led to the resignation of President Noël Le Graët then to his replacement by the interim Philippe Diallo, and psychodrama at the Bleues with the ousting of coach Corinne Deacon, publicly let go by several executive players.
“Disappointment”
“It’s obviously a disappointment for us, reacted to AFP Philippe Diallo. We had a very good record but we failed to convince the members of the UEFA executive committee. Recent events do not have probably not helped. It has weighed on France’s international image so it is up to us to restore it to give UEFA full confidence that France is once again capable of organizing great events.” “I think that the Olympic Games in 2024 in Paris will be an opportunity to show France’s ability to host major international competitions and will help restore our image,” he added.
After this failure, Philippe Diallo will have another important meeting to honor for French football on Wednesday at the UEFA Congress. On the sidelines of the re-election of President Alexander Ceferin, the only candidate for a third term, the leader will seek a seat on the Executive Committee of the body, vacant since the dismissal of the general manager of the FFF Florence Hardouin. An important ballot to establish its legitimacy and not leave Lisbon empty-handed with a weakened position while the “Comex” of the FFF is supposed to choose by June 10 a candidate within it to lead the “3F” until December 2024.