Nordic countries launch bid to host women’s Euro 2025

Football federations in the Nordic countries on Wednesday announced they had submitted a joint bid to host the women’s European Championship in 2025.

The bid by Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland stressed their vision to “inspire to build truly equal opportunities for women’s football across Europe,” the organisations said in a statement.

“All Nordic football associations agree about the importance of organising major championships in our countries, and together we have great ambitions for the development of women’s football,” Karl-Erik Nilsson, president of the Swedish Football Association, said.

Under the Nordic plan the games would be held in the countries’ capitals –Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Helsinki — as well as one additional city from each nation: Odense in Denmark, Gothenburg in Sweden, Trondheim in Norway and Tampere in Finland.

The four countries announced a “preliminary bid” already in April but on Wednesday the official bid was submitted, according to the statement.

England hosted and won the last edition, which was postponed from 2021 to the summer of 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In addition to France, which has been a candidate since February, Poland, Switzerland and Ukraine have also expressed an interest. 

The Nordic bid also has the support of Iceland, but the country will not host games in the tournament.

The women’s World Cup is scheduled for 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.