After the success that was the women’s Euro 2022. All eyes have been on UEFA for the next tournament is Euro 2025. There was a significant uptake in interest of countries to host the competition post 2022. With the England – Germany final drawing in 365 million viewers virtually and a sold-out Wembley.
UEFA decided that it would be Switzerland’s chance to host Euro 2025 with record numbers again expected to attend.
Embed from Getty ImagesSo, what has gone wrong?
With the rate at which the women’s game is growing; funding for it is also increasing. Teams no longer need to play in small, non-league grounds. They are selling out stadiums like Wembley and the Emirates regularly.
The revenue that women’s football is now producing is increasing every day. In fact, the women’s World Cup 2023 had ten times the viewers globally than the super bowl just passed did.
Embed from Getty ImagesSo why has the Swiss government cut the original allocation of fifteen million francs (£13.5m) for Euros 2025, to four million francs (£3.6m)? … especially when the argument that it does not produce revenue cannot be cited anymore.
Post euros 2022, the English FA and UEFA revealed that the tournament supported 1,200 full-time equivalent jobs and generated approximately £81 million across all its host cities.
Ignoring the World Cup 2023, this report alone should be enough to prove why just £3.6 million as a budget for the event is insulting to the players and fans. The Swiss government themselves have said they hope the tournament will increase engagement with women’s football in Switzerland.
Yet they then go and cut the budget. Sending a message that says they just don’t value female athletes the same way they value male athletes. And that is downright disappointing.
Switzerland had faced fierce competition when bidding for the role from countries like France and Poland. And predicted that fans would be travelling from across Europe to attend the event in cosmopolitan cities such as Bern, Basel, Zurich, and Geneva.
So, with a huge amount of revenue to be profited from. However, fans are now calling for the hosting rights be given to another country unless the Swiss football association reallocates the funds that was originally promised.
How fans can help
Whilst many fans have expressed their outrage and disappointment with the situation, two have created an online petition. Ally Flan and Ella McShane are online creators whose platforms are built on the women’s game.
They share, create, advocate, and promote all aspects of women’s football. So, it makes sense that they would try to bring more attention to the Swiss issue. The aim of the petition is to demonstrate that the actions of the Swiss government are preventing the growth of the women’s game and saying that women in sport don’t matter as much as men.
Ally (@ally.flan.the.woso.fan) and Ella (@ellamcshaneeee) have created an informative petition and I urge everyone to show their support and sign (link below).
We know that women in sports matter, we know that women’s football matters. The numbers show that. But this is not just an issue of money; it’s an issue of equality and growth and everyone should be outraged by it.
Image Credit: Deposit Photos