Venues, groups, tickets Everything you need to know about the Women's EURO 2025 in Switzerland

The European Championship groups were drawn on December 16. Switzerland will face Norway, Iceland and Finland at their home European Championships. Find out everything you need to know about the tournament here.

The European Women's Championship will run from July 2, 2025 to July 27, 2025.

The opening match on July 2, 2025 will take place in the Stockhorn Arena in Thun. At 18:00, Switzerland's group opponents Iceland and Finland will meet. Three hours later, the Swiss national team will be in action for the first time. Pia Sundhage's team will face Norway at St. Jakob-Park in Basel. The final will also take place there 25 days later. Matches will be played in six other cities: Bern (Wankdorf), Geneva (Stade de Genève), Zurich (Letzigrund), St.Gallen (Kybunpark), Lucerne (Swissporarena) and in Sion (Stade de Tourbillon).

The lottery meant well for the Swiss national team. As the hosts were seeded in pot 1, it was already clear before the draw that they would not be facing Spain (world number 2), Germany (3) and France (11) in the group stage. Switzerland were drawn against the easiest opponent from pot 2, Iceland (14). It could also have been England (4; defending champions), Denmark (12) or Italy (13), all of whom are ahead of Iceland (14) in the world rankings. From pot 3, it could have been Sweden (5) or the Netherlands (10) instead of Norway (16). Only Belgium (19) would have been "easier" than Norway. From pot 4, Switzerland were drawn with Finland (26), who are roughly on a par with Poland (28) and Wales (30). The toughest nut to crack would have been Portugal (22)

The other groups are also likely to be very close, with Belgium (Group B), Poland (Group C) and Wales (D) having little chance of progressing. But perhaps they will tip the scales in the end.

Since 2017, 16 teams have taken part in the European Championship. The matches are played in four groups of four, from which the top two qualify for the quarter-finals. A total of 31 matches are played.

The Swiss national team has finished after the group stage in each of its two previous European Championship appearances (2017 and 2022). Next year, however, the national team is definitely capable of reaching the quarter-finals. In fact, it is almost a must due to the good draw and home advantage. However, Switzerland is not one of the favourites for the title, but as footballers like to say: once the group stage is over, anything is possible.

The top favorites for the European Championship title include the reigning world champions from Spain and the defending champions from England. France, record European champions Germany and Sweden are also among the crème de la crème in women's football. The probability that one of these five teams will win the European Championship is certainly high.

Tickets are available at womenseuro.com and ticketcorner.ch. Several matches are already sold out. Uefa writes on its website: "Dear football fans, the demand for tickets for the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 is huge, but we're staying on top of it! Please check back regularly - new contingents could be available at any time!" Nothing stands in the way of a great football festival.

Tickets are significantly cheaper than for the men's tournament last summer. In the cheapest category, a ticket costs just 25 francs; for the opening match and the final, tickets in this category cost 30 francs each. Tickets in the highest category range from 40 to 90 francs.

A special highlight: tickets are valid on the day of the match from any Swiss town for return journeys on public transport.

The participating national associations and players will receive unprecedented prize money and the distribution program for clubs has also been significantly expanded. The prize money available for the European Championship amounts to 41 million euros and is therefore more than twice as high as at the last European Championship in 2022, when the participating national associations received a total of 16 million euros. At the 2017 finals, it was still 8 million euros. Find out more here.

St. Bernard puppy Maddli is the official mascot of Euro 2025. Maddli was unveiled in Geneva and Zurich on November 29. The lively St. Bernard puppy's name honours Madeleine Boll, Switzerland's first licensed female football player.

After the 1954 World Cup and the men's European Championship in 2008, Switzerland is hosting a major women's tournament for the first time. First and foremost, it should be a big football festival where Switzerland can show itself in its best light. In terms of scope, the European Championship 2025 will be the biggest sporting event ever to be held in Switzerland.

The tournament should give women's football a further boost - and in a sustainable way. There are also concrete and measurable goals that are being pursued in Switzerland: In the area of elite football, the SFA wants to increase interest in the domestic Women's Super League and double spectator numbers by 2027. Over the same period, the number of girls and women playing football in Switzerland is to be increased from just under 40,000 to 80,000 and the number of female officials from 2,500 to 5,000. The SFA also wants to double the number of women in decision-making positions in the Swiss football landscape. Various projects should help to ensure that these ambitious goals are achieved.

Quotes after the draw