UEFA Women's Championship
The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years and one year after the men’s UEFA European Championship first held in 1984, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalent of the UEFA European Championship. The reigning champions are England, who won their home tournament in 2022. The most successful nation in the history of the tournament is Germany, with eight titles.
| Organising body | UEFA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Region | Europe |
| Number of teams | 16 (finals) 52 (qualifiers) |
| Qualifier for | UEFA–CONMEBOL Women's Finalissima |
| Current champions | England (1st title) |
| Most successful team(s) | Germany (8 titles) |
| Website | Official website |
| UEFA Women's Euro 2025 | |
History edit
[1] In 1957 in West Berlin, a European Championship was staged by the International Ladies Football Association.[2][3] Four teams, representing West Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and the eventual winners, England, played the tournament at the Poststadion,[2][3] at a time when women's football teams were officially forbidden by the German Football Association, a ban that was widely defied.[4]
The FICF, which eventually merged into the Italian Football Federation, organised a European tournament in Italy in 1969 for women's national teams, a tournament won by the home team, Italy, who beat Denmark 3–1 in the final.[5] The two nations were also the finalists of the 1970 Women's World Cup in Italy.
Italy hosted another European women's tournament a decade later, the 1979 European Competition for Women's Football – won by Denmark.[6]
UEFA displayed little enthusiasm for women's football and were particularly hostile to Italy's independent women's football federation. Sue Lopez, a member of England's squad, contended that a lack of female representation in UEFA was a contributory factor:[7]
In 1971, UEFA had set up a committee for women's football, composed exclusively of male representatives, and by the time this committee folded in 1978 they had failed to organise any international competitions.[7]
At a conference on 19 February 1980 UEFA resolved to launch its own competition for women's national teams.[8] The meeting minutes had registered the 1979 competition as a "cause for concern".[9] The first UEFA-run international tournament began only in 1982, when the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football qualification was launched. The 1984 Finals were won by Sweden. Norway won the 1987 Finals. Since then, the UEFA Women's Championship has been dominated by Germany, which has won eight out of ten events. Norway won in 1993 and the Netherlands in 2017. Germany's 2013 win had been their sixth in a row. In 2022, England won UEFA Women's Euro 2022, becoming the country's first senior association football team of either gender to win a major tournament since the men's team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
From 1984 to 1995, the tournament was initially played as a four-team event. The 1997 edition was the first that was played with eight teams, followed by the 2001 and 2005 editions. The third expansion happened between 2009 and 2013 when 12 teams participated. From 2017 onwards 16 teams compete for the championship.[10]
The first three tournaments of the UEFA competition in the 1980s had the name "European Competition for Representative Women's Teams". With UEFA's increasing acceptance of women's football, this competition was given European Championship status by UEFA around 1990.[11] Only the 1991 and 1995 editions have been used as European qualifiers for a FIFA Women's World Cup; starting in 1999, women's national teams adopted the separate World Cup qualifying competition and group system used in men's qualifiers.
Results edit
| Editions | Years | Hosts | Finals | Third place playoff or losing semi-finalists | Number of teams | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winners | Scores | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||||||
| 1 | 1984 | No official host | Sweden | 1–0 0–1 (4–3 p) | England | Denmark and Italy | 4 | |||||
| 2 | 1987 | Norway | Norway | 2–1 | Sweden | Italy | 2–1 | England | 4 | |||
| 3 | 1989 | West Germany | West Germany | 4–1 | Norway | Sweden | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Italy | 4 | |||
| 4 | 1991 | Denmark | Germany | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Norway | Denmark | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Italy | 4 | |||
| 5 | 1993 | Italy | Norway | 1–0 | Italy | Denmark | 3–1 | Germany | 4 | |||
| 6 | 1995 | No official host | Germany | 3–2 | Sweden | England and Norway | 4 | |||||
| 7 | 1997 | Norway Sweden | Germany | 2–0 | Italy | Spain and Sweden | 8 | |||||
| 8 | 2001 | Germany | Germany | 1–0 (g.g.) | Sweden | Denmark and Norway | 8 | |||||
| 9 | 2005 | England | Germany | 3–1 | Norway | Finland and Sweden | 8 | |||||
| 10 | 2009 | Finland | Germany | 6–2 | England | Netherlands and Norway | 12 | |||||
| 11 | 2013 | Sweden | Germany | 1–0 | Norway | Denmark and Sweden | 12 | |||||
| 12 | 2017 | Netherlands | Netherlands | 4–2 | Denmark | Austria and England | 16 | |||||
| 13 | 2022 | England | England | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Germany | France and Sweden | 16 | |||||
| 14 | 2025 | Switzerland | 16 | |||||||||
Summary edit
| Team | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Germany1 | 8 (1989*, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001*, 2005, 2009, 2013) | 1 (2022) |
| Norway | 2 (1987*, 1993) | 4 (1989, 1991, 2005, 2013) |
| Sweden | 1 (1984) | 3 (1987, 1995, 2001) |
| England | 1 (2022*) | 2 (1984, 2009) |
| Netherlands | 1 (2017*) | — |
| Italy | — | 2 (1993*, 1997) |
| Denmark | — | 1 (2017) |
- * hosts
- 1 named West Germany until 1990
Medal table edit
In the 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 tournaments there was a third place playoff. Since 1995, both losing semi-finalists are counted as bronze. Only Norway and Germany have won multiple titles.
Debut of teams edit
| Year | Debuting teams | Successor teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | No. | CT | ||
| 1984 | Denmark, England, Italy, Sweden | 4 | 4 | |
| 1987 | Norway | 1 | 5 | |
| 1989 | West Germany | 1 | 6 | |
| 1991 | 0 | 6 | Germany | |
| 1993 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1995 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1997 | France, Russia, Spain | 3 | 9 | |
| 2001 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 2005 | Finland | 1 | 10 | |
| 2009 | Iceland, Netherlands, Ukraine | 3 | 13 | |
| 2013 | 0 | 13 | ||
| 2017 | Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland | 5 | 18 | |
| 2022 | Northern Ireland | 1 | 19 | |
| 2025 | ||||
Overall team records edit
In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.
- As of UEFA Women's Euro 2022, 31 July 2022
| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany[a] | 11 | 46 | 36 | 6 | 4 | 107 | 27 | +80 | 114 |
| 2 | Sweden | 11 | 42 | 22 | 6 | 14 | 72 | 47 | +25 | 72 |
| 3 | Norway | 12 | 39 | 16 | 7 | 16 | 51 | 58 | −7 | 55 |
| 4 | England | 9 | 34 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 62 | 53 | +9 | 54 |
| 5 | France | 7 | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 41 |
| 6 | Denmark | 10 | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 38 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 4 | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 27 | 15 | +12 | 33 |
| 8 | Italy | 12 | 35 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 38 | 63 | −25 | 31 |
| 9 | Spain | 4 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 19 | −3 | 18 |
| 10 | Austria | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 15 |
| 11 | Finland | 4 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 27 | −15 | 12 |
| 12 | Belgium | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 7 |
| 13 | Iceland | 4 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 22 | −15 | 7 |
| 14 | Russia | 5 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 31 | −21 | 6 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 5 |
| 16 | Portugal | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 15 | −8 | 4 |
| 17 | Ukraine | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
| 18 | Scotland | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 3 |
| 19 | Northern Ireland | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 |
Team results by tournament edit
Legend
- 1st – Champions
- 2nd – Runners-up
- 3rd – Third place (not determined after 1993)
- 4th – Fourth place (not determined after 1993)
- SF – Semi-finals (since 1995)
- QF – Quarter-finals (since 2009)
- GS – Group stage
- Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
- • – Did not qualify
- × – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
- – Hosts
For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.
| Team | 1984 (4) | 1987 (4) | 1989 (4) | 1991 (4) | 1993 (4) | 1995 (4) | 1997 (8) | 2001 (8) | 2005 (8) | 2009 (12) | 2013 (12) | 2017 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2025 (16) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | SF | QF | 2 | |
| Belgium | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | QF | 2 | |
| Denmark | SF | • | • | 3rd | 3rd | • | GS | SF | GS | GS | SF | 2nd | GS | 10 | |
| England | 2nd | 4th | • | • | • | SF | • | GS | GS | 2nd | GS | SF | 1st | 9 | |
| Finland | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | SF | QF | GS | • | GS | 4 | |
| France | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | GS | GS | QF | QF | QF | SF | 7 | |
| Germany | • | • | 1st | 1st | 4th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | QF | 2nd | 11 | |
| Iceland | • | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | GS | QF | GS | GS | 4 | |
| Italy | SF | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 2nd | • | 2nd | GS | GS | QF | QF | GS | GS | 12 | |
| Netherlands | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | SF | GS | 1st | QF | 4 | |
| Northern Ireland | • | • | × | • | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | GS | 1 | |
| Norway | • | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | SF | GS | SF | 2nd | SF | 2nd | GS | GS | 12 | |
| Portugal | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | GS | 2 | |
| Russia | Part of Soviet Union | • | • | GS | GS | • | GS | GS | GS | × | 5 | ||||
| Scotland | • | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | • | 1 | |
| Spain | × | • | • | • | • | • | SF | • | • | • | QF | QF | QF | 4 | |
| Sweden | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | • | • | 2nd | SF | 2nd | SF | QF | SF | QF | SF | 11 | |
| Switzerland | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | GS | Q | 3 |
| Ukraine | Part of Soviet Union | × | • | • | • | • | GS | • | • | • | 1 | ||||
Notes:
- The Soviet Union team was created only 1990 and did not participate in continental competitions.
- The East Germany team was created only 1990 and did not participate in continental competitions.
- Most of the countries of the "Eastern Bloc" ("Socialist camp") did not field their women teams.
Hosts edit
| Year | Host Nation | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | No fixed host | n/a |
| 1987 | Norway | Champions |
| 1989 | West Germany | Champions |
| 1991 | Denmark | Third Place |
| 1993 | Italy | Runners-up |
| 1995 | No fixed host | n/a |
| 1997 | Norway | Group Stage |
| Sweden | Semi-final | |
| 2001 | Germany | Champions |
| 2005 | England | Group Stage |
| 2009 | Finland | Quarter-Final |
| 2013 | Sweden | Semi-final |
| 2017 | Netherlands | Champions |
| 2022 | England | Champions |
| 2025 | Switzerland | To be determined |
Results of defending finalists edit
| Year | Defending champions | Finish | Defending runners-up | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Sweden | Runners-up | England | Fourth Place |
| 1987 | Norway | Runners-up | Sweden | Third Place |
| 1989 | Germany | Champions | Norway | Runners-up |
| 1991 | Germany | Fourth Place | Norway | Champions |
| 1993 | Norway | Semi-final | Italy | Did not qualify |
| 1995 | Germany | Champions | Sweden | Semi-final |
| 1997 | Germany | Champions | Italy | Group Stage |
| 2001 | Germany | Champions | Sweden | Semi-final |
| 2005 | Germany | Champions | Norway | Semi-final |
| 2009 | Germany | Champions | England | Group Stage |
| 2013 | Germany | Quarter-Final | Norway | Group Stage |
| 2017 | Netherlands | Quarter-Final | Denmark | Group Stage |
| 2022 | England | Champions | Germany | To be determined |
Tournament statistics edit
All-time top scorers edit
| Rank | Name | Euro | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 1987 | 1989 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2009 | 2013 | 2017 | 2022 | |||
| 1 | Inka Grings | 4 | 6 | 10 | |||||||||||
| Birgit Prinz | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | |||||||||
| 3 | Carolina Morace | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | |||||||
| Heidi Mohr | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||
| Lotta Schelin | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 6 | Hanna Ljungberg | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Beth Mead | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Alexandra Popp | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||
| 9 | Melania Gabbiadini | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||
| Solveig Gulbrandsen | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Maren Meinert | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Patrizia Panico | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||
| Pia Sundhage | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Jodie Taylor | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Lena Videkull | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||
| Bettina Wiegmann | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||
Top scorers by tournament edit
| Year | Player | Maximum matches | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Pia Sundhage | 4 | 4 |
| 1987 | Trude Stendal | 2 | 3 |
| 1989 | Sissel Grude Ursula Lohn | 2 | 2 |
| 1991 | Heidi Mohr | 2 | 4 |
| 1993 | Susan Mackensie | 2 | 2 |
| 1995 | Lena Videkull | 3 | 3 |
| 1997 | Carolina Morace Marianne Pettersen Angélique Roujas | 5 | 4 |
| 2001 | Claudia Müller Sandra Smisek | 5 | 3 |
| 2005 | Inka Grings | 5 | 4 |
| 2009 | Inka Grings | 6 | 6 |
| 2013 | Lotta Schelin | 6 | 5 |
| 2017 | Jodie Taylor | 6 | 5 |
| 2022 | Beth Mead Alexandra Popp | 6 | 6 |
UEFA.com Golden Player by tournament edit
| Year | Player |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Pia Sundhage |
| 1987 | Heidi Støre |
| 1989 | Doris Fitschen |
| 1991 | Silvia Neid |
| 1993 | Hege Riise |
| 1995 | Birgit Prinz |
| 1997 | Carolina Morace |
| 2001 | Hanna Ljungberg |
| 2005 | Anne Mäkinen |
| 2009 | Inka Grings |
| 2013 | Nadine Angerer1 |
| 2017 | Lieke Martens1 |
| 2022 | Beth Mead1 |
1Official player of the tournament since 2013
Highest attendances edit
- 87,192 – England v Germany, Wembley, London (2022 final)
- 68,871 – England v Austria, Old Trafford, Manchester (2022 group stage)
- 41,301 – Germany v Norway, Friends Arena, Solna (2013 final)
- 30,785 - England v Northern Ireland, St Mary's Stadium, Southampton (2022 group stage)
- 29,092 – England v Finland, City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester (2005 group stage)
- 28,994 – England v Spain, Falmer Stadium, Brighton and Hove (2022 quarter-final)
- 28,847 – England v Norway, Falmer Stadium, Brighton and Hove (2022 group stage)
- 28,624 – England v Sweden, Bramall Lane, Sheffield (2022 semi-final)
- 28,182 – Netherlands v Denmark, De Grolsch Veste, Enschede (2017 final)
- 27,445 – Germany v France, Stadium MK, Milton Keynes (2022 semi-final)
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ Includes participations as West Germany from 1989–1990; see below.
References edit
- ^ Skillen, Fiona; Byrne, Helena; Carrier, John; James, Gary (27 Jan 2022). "A comparative analysis of the 1921 English Football Association ban on women's football in Britain and Ireland". Sport in History. 42 (1): 49–75. doi:10.1080/17460263.2021.2025415. S2CID 246409158.
- ^ a b . BPB. 4 Sep 2007. Archived from the original on 18 Feb 2022.
- ^ a b "Women's european football championship scene from match germany (GFR) against England in Berlin (West-Berlin) . final result 0:4 05.Nov. 1957". Getty Images.
- ^ "Frauenfußball-Verbot 1955 [Women's football ban 1955]". Deutschlandfunk. 30 July 2015.
- ^ "Coppa Europa per Nazioni (Women) 1969". Rsssf.com. 19 March 2001. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ "Inofficial European Women Championship 1979". Rsssf.com. 15 October 2000. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ a b Lopez, Sue (1997). Women on the Ball: A Guide to Women's Football. London, England: Scarlet Press. p. 99. ISBN 1857270169.
- ^ "2013 Uefa Women's Competitions" (PDF). UEFA. August 2013. p. 4. (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
- ^ Williams, Jean (2007). A Beautiful Game: International Perspectives on Women's Football. Berg Publishers. p. 30. ISBN 978-1845206758.
- ^ "Women's EURO and U17s expanded". UEFA. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
- ^ Schlenker, Anika Leslie-Walker, Marisa (2020-07-08). "Four decades of UEFA Women's Championships "come home"". Football Makes History. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
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External links edit
- UEFA Women's Championship
- BBC Sport – "How Women's Euros have evolved"