Four Nordic countries plan to submit a joint bid to host the 2025 UEFA Women’s European Championship, which exploded in popularity in 2022 behind record viewership and attendance.
“All Nordic football associations agree about the importance of organizing major championships,” said Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness. “Together we have great ambitions for the development of women’s football.”
- The group consists of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
- The bid is supported by two other Nordic territories: the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
- Bidding closes on Oct. 12, with a final decision on Jan. 25.
- France, Poland, and Switzerland have also submitted bids.
The 2022 Women’s Euro — hosted by England for the first time since 2005 — returned after a one-year pandemic-related delay and averaged 18,544 fans per contest, its best attendance to date.
The tournament saw 87,192 fans attend its final match between England and Germany — a record for any men’s or women’s European national team tournament game.
England’s 2-1 victory over Germany was also the most-watched women’s soccer match ever in the U.K. with a peak audience of 17.4 million on the BBC and 5.9 million streams on digital platforms. The previous record was 11.7 million viewers for the 2019 World Cup semifinal.
Valuable Bid
In the next 10 years, European women’s soccer could reach roughly $698 million in annual commercial value — six times its current value, according to a UEFA report.
UEFA also projects there could be 328 million women’s soccer fans worldwide by 2033.
