Introduction
Running from July 2nd to 27th in Switzerland, the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 is set to be one of the most-watched female tournaments in the World.
With over 700,000 tickets issued and almost all of them already sold before the opening match (more than 600,000 according to RTS), the tournament has now officially overtaken the record-breaking 2022 finals in England as the highest-attended UEFA Women’s EURO in history. Following the first semi-final between England and Italy in Geneva, aggregate attendance for 2025 moved beyond 620,000, comfortably surpassing the 2022 tally of 574,875 with two matches still to play. An overall average of more than 20,000 spectators per game now looks assured, marking another historic first.
These numbers were reflected throughout the tournament. UEFA announced a group stage aggregate attendance of 461,582, and 112,535 spectators watched the four quarter-final ties.
Today’s numbers are indicative of significant social and economic progress.
In this article we cover the history of the tournament, its organisation and financing, the social and economic impact, and how AISTS alumni are contributing to its success.
A brief History of the UEFA Women’s Euro
The UEFA Women’s Euro began in 1984 as the “European Competition for Representative Women’s Teams,” featuring only four teams. Sweden won in front of a few thousand spectators.
By the 1990s, Germany dominated the tournament, accumulating eight of the first twelve editions.
In 1997, the tournament was rebranded as the “UEFA Women’s Championship” and hosted eight teams for the first time.
It expanded to twelve teams in 2009 and reached sixteen teams in 2017, with the Netherlands winning on home soil and setting attendance records.
In 2022, the UEFA Women’s Championship achieved another record year with England’s victory at Wembley, watched by over 87,000 fans. In total, the 2022 tournament became the most-watched Women’s Euro, with over 365 million viewers. A total of 574,875 tickets were sold, compared to 247,041 in 2017 in the Netherlands.
Since the creation of the Women’s EURO, Germany has won eight titles, Norway has two, while Sweden, Netherlands, and England each have one.
Now, in 2025, the 14th official tournament arrives in Switzerland, its most logistically ambitious and globally visible edition yet.
With its record-breaking attendance and visibility figures, the Women’s EURO has evolved from a niche event into a symbol of equality, progress, and economic opportunity in European sport.
Switzerland Hosts UEFA Women’s Euro for the First Time
Switzerland, the country that shares its borders with France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Liechtenstein, becomes the epicentre of women’s football for 26 days of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025.
According to the Swiss federal office of sport, the Swiss confederation was in favor of the bid for four main reasons:
- To promote women’s football and sports in general,
- To raise Switzerland’s attraction as a tourist destination and as a host for major events,
- To promote the use of public transportation,
- To convey values of equal opportunities, openness, hospitality, and sustainability.
Tournament Infrastructure & Host Cities
With a combined capacity of over 175,000 people, the 31 matches of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 are currently taking place across eight cities in Switzerland. These cities include Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Sion, and Thun.
Key venues include Basel’s St. Jakob-Park (capacity of 34,250), the largest stadium in Switzerland, and Bern’s historic Stadion Wankdorf (capacity of 29,800). Other notable stadiums include Stade de Genève, Zurich’s Stadion Letzigrund, and newer facilities like Arena St.Gallen and Allmend Stadion Luzern. Smaller venues in Sion and Thun round out the lineup.
These stadiums have hosted major events such as UEFA EURO 2008 matches, World Cup games, and international friendlies.
Organization and Financial Model of the Women’s EURO 2025
The ASF officially organizes the tournament. It is executed by WEURO25 SA, a joint venture co-owned by ASF and UEFA, that organizes and finances the matches. The company is also responsible for:
- Funding security within the stadiums,
- Medical care,
- Personnel,
- Broadcasting,
- Marketing.
In total, the tournament budget represents 233 million Swiss Francs, which were raised by:
- The host cantons and cities, for 63 million Swiss Francs,
- The UEFA, for 150 million Swiss Francs,
- The ASF, for 5 million Swiss Francs,
- The Swiss confederation, for 15 million Swiss Francs.
The hosting cantons and venues have three responsibilities:
- Providing the infrastructure for the matches,
- Ensuring security outside the stadiums,
- Offering commercial activities related to the tournament in the host cities.
The Swiss confederation contributes to the coordination of the tournament. It supports the event with an envelope of 15 million Swiss Francs, intended to equally co-finance three areas:
- Sports promotion measures,
- Tourism national communication measures, and
- Fare reductions on public transport.
During the bidding process, a contribution of around 15 million Swiss Francs was mentioned. However, on January 31, 2024, the Swiss Federal Council announced a significantly lower commitment of only 4 million Swiss Francs, which triggered strong criticism from across the political spectrum (as explained in the Letemps article). In response, the Swiss Parliament adopted several motions calling for a return to funding of 15 million Swiss Francs.
Women’s EURO 2025: Driving Gender Equality, Economic Growth, and Football Legacy
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 is achieving record revenues of around 130 million euros, (according to NZZ), over double the revenue generated in 2022. Its scale is amplifying its role model effect, encouraging girls’ participation and pushing for investment in professional women’s leagues.
In this context, the ASF and UEFA launched the “Here to Stay” legacy project to capitalize on the tournament’s impact. The goal is to produce strong and sustainable outcomes for women’s football in Switzerland by 2027:
- Double the number of female football players (40,000 to 80,000),
- Double the number of women coaches and referees (2,500 to 5,000),
- Double league engagement (TV viewership and social media),
- Strengthen the league’s structure with marketing and licensing,
- Double the number of women in football leadership (320 to 640),
- Recruit and train 8 female stadium speakers.
UEFA sees the tournament as a catalyst for advancing women’s football across all levels in Europe, according to the Pre-tournament impact report by UEFA.
The project is fully aligned with the ASF’s 2021-2025 strategy to make women’s football the most popular and widely played sport among women.
In addition to the gender equality outcomes, the report presents the impact of the tournament on various levels:
- Fan reach and experience: to be the most attended edition,
- Elite women’s football: to welcome the most significant monetary prize in women’s EURO history (41 million Euros, against 16 million Euros in 2022),
- Economy and tourism: to generate 180 million Swiss Francs of economic activity in Switzerland with 137,000 tickets sold internationally,
- Sustainability: to minimise the tournament’s environmental impact (e.g. free public transport is provided for all ticket holders).
AISTS Alumni Contributions: at the heart of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025
From volunteers to venue staff, referees, technical observers, UEFA and WEURO25 SA employees, and service providers, several thousand people are working together to deliver the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 tournament.
Some of our AISTS Master of Advanced Studies (in Sport Management) Alumni also contributed to the event operations.
Key individuals include:
- Alejandro Junod, (AISTS 2006) – VP, Media Sales & Account Management at CAA Eleven (responsible for the marketing of broadcasting, sponsorship, and licensing rights on behalf of UEFA),
- Anna Serova (AISTS 2023) – Volunteer Ceremonies lead, UEFA Women’s EURO 2025,
- Camila Cintra (AISTS 2016) – Senior Media Rights Account Manager, CAA Eleven,
- Catherine Maher (AISTS 2008) – Senior Media Account Manager, CAA Eleven,
- Luis Cantarell Pedemonte (AISTS 2013) – Staff Logistics Manager at UEFA,
- Marc Cano (AISTS 2009) – Legal Counsel and Match Manager at UEFA,
- Regula Schweizer (AISTS 2017) – Project Manager for the Host City Zurich – UEFA Women’s Euro 2025,
- Samiha Dabholkar (AISTS 2017) – Sponsorship Manager, CAA Eleven,
- Stephan Rychen (AISTS 2003) – Organising Committee Member, Association WEURO Geneve 2025.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 is already proving to be a landmark event, breaking records in attendance, visibility, and advancing gender equality in sport.
While the tournament may not yet be financially self-sustaining—with operational costs still exceeding revenues—it is undeniably a catalyst for long-term social and economic change.
Looking ahead, UEFA has announced five potential hosts for the 2029 edition:
- Germany, which hosted once in 2001,
- Italy for its third potential bid,
- Poland and Portugal, which have never hosted before,
- Denmark and Sweden, for their fifth potential bid.
According to UEFA in the article “Five potential bids to host UEFA Women’s EURO 2029“, this diverse list reflects the growing footprint of women’s football across Europe.
AISTS is proud to have contributed to the education of professionals within UEFA who are helping to shape this transformative era in sport. Through its Master of Advanced Studies in Sport Management and Technology and Continuing Education Programmes, AISTS remains at the forefront of empowering future leaders with the tools to drive innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability in global sport.
