The 2025 Women’s European Championships returns this summer, with 16 nations competing for continental glory in the most anticipated edition of the tournament yet.
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00:00Women's football takes centre stage this summer across Europe.
00:05Will the current European champions England keep hold of the title?
00:09Or will there be a different team lifting the trophy in Switzerland?
00:14Let's take an early look ahead to the Women's European Championships.
00:23Hello and welcome to Football Now, here from the Albeit Stadium in Qatar.
00:29Compared to last year, the summer of 2025 is a little bit quieter for football tournaments,
00:34but there's still plenty to get excited about.
00:37The Women's European Championships is taking place this July in Switzerland.
00:42So let's take a look at what lays ahead.
00:45It's going to be a real landmark for women's football.
00:48Over the last few years, we've just seen growth in the women's game,
00:52and this tournament, we can expect the same.
00:55We're expecting record-breaking engagement globally.
00:58We saw 365 million viewers in 2022, which was up 60% from the 2017 tournament.
01:05And predictions suggest that we're going to exceed the 400 million mark this tournament.
01:10The countries which didn't have things going on during the 2023 World Cup,
01:15in terms of men's major competitions, they saw bigger viewers on the Women's World Cup.
01:21So I think that's definitely going to help.
01:23But I also think that tournaments, you know, knockout football is just so exciting.
01:28Anyone who loves football will turn on the TV, see it, and just want to keep watching.
01:33So, yeah, really exciting. I think loads of exciting opportunity with this tournament.
01:38And yeah, loads of eyes will be on it.
01:41The 16-team competition will take place across eight Swiss cities.
01:46The hosts kick off the tournament on July 2nd against Norway in Basel,
01:50which will also be the host venue for the final.
01:53The reigning champions, England, will begin their defence of the trophy in Zurich
01:58in a tough opening match against France,
02:00while the World Cup holders, Spain, play Portugal in Bern.
02:04Saint-Gallen, Lucerne, Geneva, Sion and Thon
02:09will also help to host a total of 31 matches across 22 days.
02:15Spain are seen by many as the favourites for this tournament.
02:19after winning the last edition of the FIFA World Cup.
02:22However, in 2024, they were beaten by Brazil at the Paris Olympic Games,
02:27despite their star-studded squad.
02:30So, can they bounce back this summer and pick up what would be
02:33their second major international trophy in two years?
02:38I think they're the favourites for sure. I mean, they won the World Cup.
02:41They've got multiple Ballon d'Or winners in their squads.
02:44You know, Atana Bonmati, for example, the most recent one.
02:47But yeah, I mean, they've got tons of experience in their squads.
02:51And they actually won the World Cup without half their squads
02:54because of all the problems that were going on in the women's team.
02:57But also what helps is, at club level, they all play for Barcelona.
03:01Not all of them, but most of them play for Barcelona.
03:04So they've already got that kind of chemistry,
03:06and they can work on formations in their club level
03:10to bring straight to national level. So that also helps.
03:13Yeah, they seem like an unstoppable force, don't they?
03:16Spain's main competition is once again likely to come in the form of England.
03:21The pair faced off in the 2023 World Cup Final in Australia
03:25with La Roca coming out on top.
03:28England, though, are the current holders of this trophy
03:31and will be desperate to defend their title.
03:34But are they really the same team as they were three years ago?
03:38Or will repeating that triumph prove to be an uphill task for the Lionesses?
03:43Yeah, England are always going to be a strong team in women's football.
03:48And yes, there's been change.
03:51Ellen White has retired, Jill Scott has retired.
03:53They were really huge parts of the England squad for a long time.
03:57Things have changed, but Serena Vigeman is still in charge,
04:01still a brilliant manager, as confident as ever, I would say.
04:05And a lot of the names are the same.
04:07We've still got really key names, still Lucy Bronze playing,
04:10Georgia Stanway playing, but really fresh, exciting new players.
04:14Serena Vigeman has been experimenting with the likes of Chelsea's
04:18Abbey Beaver-Jones. We've seen Ruby Mace,
04:21a really young, exciting talent, be a part of England's squad.
04:24And again, whether these people end up being part of the Euro squad, we'll see.
04:29But there's a lot of excitement.
04:32From the favourites to the tournament debutants now,
04:35Poland and Wales will each be making their first ever appearance
04:39at a Women's European Championships.
04:42It's a demonstration of what a good place Welsh football in particular
04:46finds itself, having also made their first Men's World Cup appearance
04:50in 50 years here in Qatar back in 2022.
04:55There's been a lot of investment into women's football and sort of
04:58growing the pathway from grassroots level through to the professional.
05:01We've got players like Jess Fishlock, obviously, who've been around
05:04for a long time now, some of our senior players who, you know,
05:07this could be their last ever tournament.
05:09This was the last thing they wanted to tick off.
05:11But yeah, a lot of quality. And I think, you know,
05:13that comes from the strong leadership.
05:15So Rhianne Wilkinson took charge of the side early 2024.
05:19And I think she's just been phenomenal, both on and off the pitch.
05:22You know, we are quite small and we are quite humble,
05:24but we do need to be a lot more confident.
05:27And I think she's sort of fed that through to the players as well,
05:30that we do belong in these sort of competitions.
05:33We want to be playing against the top tier sides, you know,
05:36and not to sort of shy away from these opportunities.
05:39It's set to be another exciting summer for women's football,
05:43as some of the continent's traditional heavyweights
05:45are set to come up against some new teams.
05:48Let us know who you think will win the European Championships
05:51using the hashtag FootballNowEuro2025.
05:55That's all we've got time for, though, this week.
05:58We'll see you next time. Bye for now.
06:06.