The Women’s Euro 2025 is here, with reigning champions England looking to defend their crown.
With 16 places in the tournament and 51 teams battling it out for the chance to qualify the stakes are high. But when does the competition start? And how will the winner be decided?
BBC Bitesize has you covered with a UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 explainer and a chance to quiz yourself on the title-holding Lionesses.
When is the UEFA Women’s Euro?
The UEFA Women’s Championship will be played between the 2 to 27 July 2025. As with the previous three editions of the tournament, it will consist of 16 teams from across Europe. The 2025 competition marks the return of the four-year tournament cycle following disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Who is hosting the UEFA Women’s Euro?
In April 2023, UEFA revealed that the 2025 tournament would be hosted by Switzerland, who fended off competition from Poland, France and, a joint bid from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
This will be the first time that Switzerland have organised a major women’s sporting event. Matches will be played across eight stadiums across the country, including St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Stade de Genève in Geneva and Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich.
What are the qualifying groups?
The group stages of the Women’s European Qualifiers are split into three leagues and divided into four or five groups respectively. This stage of the tournament will determine which 15 teams join host nation Switzerland in the final.
League A
Group A1: Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Finland
Group A2: Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Czechia
Group A3: France, England (holders), Sweden, Republic of Ireland
Group A4: Germany, Austria, Iceland, Poland
League B
Group B1: Switzerland (finals hosts), Hungary, Türkiye, Azerbaijan
Group B2: Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Israel
Group B3: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Malta
Group B4: Wales, Croatia, Ukraine, Kosovo
League C
Group C1: Belarus, Lithuania, Cyprus, Georgia
Group C2: Slovenia, Latvia, North Macedonia, Moldova
Group C3: Greece, Montenegro, Andorra, Faroe Islands
Group C4: Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Armenia
Group C5: Albania, Estonia, Luxembourg
How well do you know the Lionesses?
England are the current holders of the Euro title after their 2-1 victory over Germany in the 2022 final. Since then, women’s football has experienced a burst of growth in the UK, with the FA reporting that 2.3 million women and girls had began playing football in the following year- a whooping 140% increase in participation. But how well do you know the squad? Take the quiz below to find out.
Lucy Bronze
Since making her England senior team debut in June 2013, Lucy Bronze has earned over 120 caps for her country. But what number shirt does she wear for England?
A) 2
B) 4
C) 10
The correct answer is A. Lucy Bronze wears the number two jersey for England. The shirt is typically worn by defenders - and more specifically, right-backs. Other notable players who donned the number two shirt include Gary Neville and Kyle Walker
Lauren James
England and Chelsea forward Lauren James was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2023 for her achievements in the 2022/2023 WSL season. But football seems to run in her family. Which of the below players is she related to?
A) David James
B) Daniel James
C) Reece James
Lauren’s older brother is the England and Chelsea defender, Reece James. They are the first brother and sister to represent England at senior level.
While they both play for the same club and country, they have had different routes into the game. Lauren began her football journey in the Blues academy, before playing for both Arsenal and Manchester United. It wasn’t until 2021 that she signed a deal with Chelsea.
On the other hand, Reece has played professionally for Chelsea since 2017, briefly going on loan to Wigan Athletic in 2018/19 season. In August 2023, he was confirmed as the captain of the men’s team.
Leah Williamson
Known for captaining England to Euro victory in 2022, Leah Williamson has proved that she has the skills on the pitch. But what other hobby does she have?
A) Fencing
B) Piano
C) Beekeeping
While recovering from an ACL injury she sustained in April 2023, England and Arsenal defender Leah took on a BBC challenge to learn the piano in just six weeks.
Having first began playing the keyboard during lockdown, Leah took part in the BBC Sport digital series, Out of Office, where footballers explore hobbies away from the pitch.
At the end of the six weeks she played a Shania Twain song on piano alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra. The performance took place in front of her family, as well as her fellow Arsenal team-mates Jen Beattie and Kim Little.
Chloe Kelly
Chloe Kelly’s penalty against Nigeria in the 2023 Women’s World Cup broke the record for the tournament's fastest ever shot. But how fast was it?
A) 72.50km/h (45mph)
B) 97.92km/h (60 mph)
C) 110.79km/h (69mph)
Kelly’s 111km (69mph) unique run-up and strike was smashed into the top left-hand corner, beating Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie. The winning penalty sealed England’s spot in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Not only was the fastest goal in the history of the women’s tournament, it was more powerful than any goal scored in the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Calm under pressure, Kelly was also responsible for scoring the winning goal of the 2022 Euros and the winning penalty of the 2023 Finalissima.
How does Women’s Euro 2025 qualifying work?
Over the course of four months, all 51 teams will compete for a spot in the 2025 tournament. Between April and July 2024 teams will play in groups of four or three over six match days. Each team will play one home and one away match against the other squads in their group.
The top two teams in each League A group will secure a spot in the finals. These teams will join League B hosts Switzerland, who automatically qualify.
Two rounds of play-offs will then be played across October, November and December to decide the remaining seven spots.
When will the Euro final be played?
A draw will be completed on 16 December 2024 to decide how the 16 qualified teams are divided across four groups. The top two teams of each group will each progress to the knockout phase.
The Euro final will be played on 27 July 2025 at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland’s largest football stadium. The venue has a capacity of 37,500 and previously hosted the 2016 Men’s UEFA Europa League final.
This article was published in May 2024
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