A Record-Breaking Tournament Sets the Stage for Growth and Expansion

Uefa’s director of women’s football, Nadine Kessler, sat down with us to reflect on the success of Euro 2025, a tournament that has exceeded expectations and shattered records. With a record-breaking attendance of 233,000 fans from 160 countries, the 16-team tournament has proven that women’s football is a force to be reckoned with.

Kessler, a former world footballer of the year, was instrumental in shaping the tournament’s success. “I need to throw my to-do list out of the window,” she said, describing the chaos of the tournament. “It’s like my craziest match-day, but it’s incredible.” The tournament’s popularity has been evident throughout, with fans packing out stadiums and cheering on their favorite teams.

Despite initial concerns about Switzerland’s suitability as a host country, Kessler believes the tournament has proven that smaller nations can successfully host a major women’s football event. “We’ve proved with facts that you can take things up a level and be successful in a country that wasn’t already in love with women’s football,” she said.

The success of Euro 2025 has also been marked by a more competitive balance across the continent. Kessler believes that the gap between teams is closing, with more high-pressing and technical distribution on display. “We changed a lot about the qualification system, with the Nations League and a really open set of playoffs that allocated seven slots, and that has helped,” she said.

However, despite the tournament’s success, Kessler is hesitant to rule out expansion in the future. “In the future, never,” she said, “but we haven’t planned to expand anything for the next edition in 2029. We are super happy with the 16-team format, it’s well received and we plan to stick with it.”

The tournament’s financial performance has also been a topic of discussion, with some critics questioning the decision to make a financial loss. However, Kessler is confident that the investment will pay off in the long run. “People should use the word ‘investment’ because we made a conscious one,” she said. “We could have broken even or made a profit but decided to increase the prize money by 156% so federations, players and clubs all benefit.”

Looking ahead to the future, Kessler is excited about the launch of the new Women’s Europa Cup in September. The competition was demanded by the European club community and will provide teams with more experiences and opportunities. “It’s fantastic that we will kick this off and hopefully capitalise on the hype created by the Euros,” she said.

As the tournament comes to a close, Kessler is proud of what has been achieved. “I’m very proud of what we’ve done,” she said. “We’ve taken the next step with this Euros in a country where people perhaps didn’t really think that was possible.”

The final match between Spain and England is set to be a thrilling conclusion to the tournament, with both teams vying for the top spot. As Kessler said, “It’s a generational team and 90% of these players play together for one club [Barcelona]. It’s unique, and it’s fantastic for our sport.”