Is there a case for saying that Switzerland's hosting of the recent Women's Euros, while not the sort of success La Nati might have hoped for on home soil given they made it as far as the quarter-finals before defeat to losing finalists Spain, actually marked a far bigger win for the environment and indeed the wider footballing community? If you looked beyond what was going on on the pitch, almost as much coverage was given to a commitment to make the tournament sustainable, a change deemed necessary by Doris Keller, tournament director, in an interview with the Travel Smart Campaign-
“It’s ambitious, but necessary. We develop an environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy for each tournament organised by UEFA. Nowadays, it’s no longer conceivable to organise such large events without addressing the issue of sustainability. When we bid to host the Women’s Euro 2025, it was already clear that we had to make this a priority.“
And from listening to/watching radio and TV coverage, much praise was reserved for the inclusion of the ability to travel to matches via public transport as covered in the price of a match ticket, competing teams also encouraged to swap planes for trains or buses upon landing in the country.
Equally important was the commitment to human rights, particularly in light of the decision to award the 2034 men's World Cup to Saudi Arabia. Mindful of the backlash against that, a declaration was signed between UEFA, the Swiss government and the country's FA, aimed at reiterating the notion of football as a game for all, which the women's equivalent arguably does better than the men's.
General secretary Theodore Theodoridis, of UEFA, used the announcement to set out a vision to make football the most- played girls/ women's team sport- surely another boost?
“The UEFA Women’s Euro represents the pinnacle of European football. The unprecedented growth of the women’s game is driven by our strategic vision to make football the most played team sport for women and girls across the continent. We are also deeply committed to working collaboratively to promote and uphold human rights at our flagship events. Today’s declaration speaks highly of our commitment, and we are grateful to the Swiss federal government, the host cities, and the Swiss Football Association for their joint efforts.”
And it could be said the Swiss FA played a blinder, president Dominique Blanc keeping it simple in his own statement while reaffirming the founding principles of his country's bid.
“Today’s signing of the Human Rights Declaration reaffirms our commitment to a responsible and sustainable future for international football. As a member association of UEFA, we recognise the importance of our social responsibility and commit ourselves to actively promoting social sustainability for this tournament as well.”
What makes this arguably all the more impressive is Switzerland being a relative newcomer to tournament football, their first entry/appearance not coming until the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada. They had won their qualifying group to take their place under the management of former German international Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, finishing third in their group with just the three points after a solitary 10-1 win over Ecuador in their second game, having opened with a 1-0 defeat by Japan and finishing up with a 2-1 loss to Cameroon.
Two years later they qualified for their first Euros in the Netherlands, with another third place finish at the group stage after an initial loss to fellow débutantes Austria was followed up with a win over Iceland and sharing the spoils with France- a win would've taken them through.
No further progress was evident by 2022, their next Euros qualification ended with a draw and two defeats against Portugal, Sweden and the Netherlands, Dane Nils Nilsen taking over from Voss-Tecklenburg before being replaced by another German, Inka Grings.
They did at least set the bar a bit higher at the 2023 World Cup, topping Group A following an opening win over the Philippines and two draws against Norway and co-hosts New Zealand. All this before eventual winners Spain gave them a rude welcome to the first knockout stage game for the nation.
Possibly with at least one eye on their then-future hosting of the Euros, in 2024 former Swedish international Pia Sundhage was appointed as manager. And it was the opportunity to lead them into that particular test that persuaded her to take on the job- speaking to BBC Sport following her appointment, she said simply "That kind of feeling when everybody's coming together, that is unique So it was easy to say 'yes'."
Reading more into it it does seem an almost perfect coming together of coach and team at the right time?
Moving to Bern to properly “embrace and breathe the culture" as a first order of business, the next step was mentally preparing her new charges- "The biggest challenge is, I would say, mindset. In Switzerland we do have a lot of good players. We can compete, I think, at the highest level now. “
Their opening match against Norway on home turf a few months back, having secured hosting rights, may not have gone to plan, with a bit of unwanted history made as the first host nation to lose their opening game, but in the wake of the tournament Swiss women's football overall as well as the wider game/ ecosystem could benefit.
"Right now, women's football isn't in a great place in Switzerland. "The league is severely underfunded, most teams aren't professional, many teams aren't playing in a real stadium so there is no actual stands. This is unacceptable for women's football in 2025. The federation has realised this and now the Euros can be a great moment to kickstart that change and ensure women's football is going to be professional and more girls can live their dream of actually living by playing football and not having three side hustles or studying."
So wrote journalist Helene Altgelt, the Swiss FA since announcing plans to double the number of girls and women playing from 40 to 80,000 by 2027, as well as driving up domestic league attendances as part of what could be a remarkable legacy on so many levels.