Euro 2025 in Switzerland: a boost for women's football?
England beat Spain in a final shootout at the UEFA European Women's Championship in Switzerland on Sunday. The defending champions defeated the world champions 3:1. The press discusses whether this tournament had what it takes to finally put women's football in the premier league when it comes to sports events.
An explosive success
The Euro 2025 in Switzerland was another big step forward for the sport, according to The Guardian:
“From the group stages onwards, record numbers of fans have packed out grounds from Lucerne to Zurich, while in Britain ITV's coverage has attracted its highest viewing figures of the year. ... The game has its challenges to address, particularly at club level, where a gulf in resources has emerged between elite clubs and the rest. But successful international tournaments are crucial to sustaining momentum, or as Bronze put it before England's match against Sweden, 'exploding' the game in Europe and beyond. In that respect, Euro 2025 has more than done its job.”
A historic tournament for Poland's players
Poland's first time playing in the UEFA Women's Championship has given the sport a big boost in the country, notes Tygodnik Powszechny:
“It was a historic moment for women's football: the Polish players competed in their first matches at the European Championship. As a very young team, they may have lost against Germany and Sweden, but they left the tournament with three goals against Denmark and, above all, plenty of motivation and plans for the next tournaments. ... Whereas in 2013 only 3,000 women trained at football clubs, a decade later that figure has risen to more than 25,000, and the Polish Football Association has promised that a year from now there will be 50,000 women on Poland's pitches (by comparison: almost one million women and girls already train in Germany).”
The euphoria will soon fade
In contrast, La Vanguardia's deputy editor Miquel Molina soberly notes:
“The Spanish national team had an exciting championship but was unable to repeat its victories in the World Cup and the Nations League. ... There were expectations that the team's successes would give the flagging national tournaments a boost. ... However, the impact of the major international competitions quickly faded. ... Clubs are not investing. Unlike Barça, Real Madrid has not yet opened up its stadium to its female players. ... It is unlikely that the euphoria inspired by the European Championship will translate into spectator numbers on a par with those in Switzerland or for the English league anytime soon.”
German team left an unpleasant aftertaste
German daily taz has mixed feelings about the German team:
“The counter-cultural spirit that prevailed at past tournaments is a thing of the past. Within the DFB team, feminism has freed itself from progressivism. 'The team stands for so much,' its captain Giulia Gwinn said. But beyond LGBT, suddenly it was conservative and far-right issues that this team stood for. And above all the unspeakable so-called 'German virtues' that coach Christian Wück repeatedly emphasised: determination, the will to fight, mentality. Women who in some cases played dirty for Germany were cheered on. Ultra-religious DFB players also used the European Championship for propaganda. This white team, which listens to German pop songs, loves a fight, and in some cases the Bible, has left an unpleasant aftertaste.”