UEFA Managing Director Unconcerned by Euro 2025 Overlap with Men’s Club World Cup

Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s managing director, has stated that the organization is “not worried” about the potential overlap of some Women’s Euro 2025 matches with the FIFA men’s Club World Cup. This follows England’s triumph in Euro 2022, where they secured the title on home soil by defeating Germany in the final at Wembley. FIFA’s newly expanded men’s competition is scheduled to be held in the United States between 15 June and 13 July, featuring 32 participating teams, among them Chelsea and Manchester City. Switzerland will host Euro 2025 from 2 to 27 July, which implies that approximately five or six matches will likely occur concurrently with games in the men’s tournament. Kessler stated, “Overall, I’m not really worried. We’re talking about two tournaments, in two different countries, with two different timezones.” She added, “There are also broadcasting agreements in place that differs from ours. Again, I’m not worried.” Kessler further explained, “As much as we always try to get full exclusivity for our women’s football tournaments, in the times we live in, with our men’s football tournaments having so many in a year, to get that privilege of full exclusivity is not easy any more.” She emphasized the importance of their strategy, saying, “We must also stick to our plan because I think it’s important we get a professional, respected international calendar in place for women’s football. We have to co-exist.” In May, FIFA dismissed allegations that Fifpro and the World Leagues Association had not been consulted regarding its proposals for the Club World Cup. BBC Sport requested FIFA to provide a rationale for the scheduling conflict with Euro 2025 earlier this month. A spokesperson for FIFA informed BBC Sport that “The international match calendar for 2025-2030 was approved by the Fifa Council in 2023, which is made up of members from each of the six confederations, including Uefa.” The spokesperson added, “While Fifa accepts that both the men’s and women’s international match calendars are constrained by obvious limitations, this was deemed to be the most balanced solution.” UEFA’s objective for Euro 2025 is to achieve full attendance at all matches and establish it as the most viewed women’s European football competition. The organization has set an attendance goal exceeding 700,000 spectators. As of 1 October, a segment of tickets became available for purchase, with more than 200,000 already sold. The final match will be held at St Jakob Park in Basel, which has a seating capacity of 34,050. Martin Kallen, UEFA’s events chief executive, commented that the tournament is becoming “bigger and bigger,” suggesting this could be the final opportunity for a nation of Switzerland’s size to host the Women’s Euros. Kallen stated, “It’s already at the edge for Switzerland to be able to do this Euros. I think they waited for the right moment to ask for it.” He further explained, “They got it because in the future I think the stadiums and infrastructure in Switzerland is too small.” The draw is scheduled for Monday, 16 December, at which point the reigning champions England and tournament newcomers Wales will discover their adversaries for the group stage. A primary objective for UEFA is to achieve “men’s Euros standards” concerning team amenities, football technology, and analytical tools. The tournament will incorporate video assistant referee (VAR), goalline technology, and semi-automated offside systems. In June, artificial playing surfaces in Bern and Thun will be covered with natural grass for the entire duration of the tournament, ensuring consistent conditions across all host venues. These natural grass overlays will remain until September. Schedule for Euro 2025 matches: Group stage matchday one: 2–5 July Group stage matchday two: 6–9 July Group stage matchday three: 10–13 July Quarter-finals: 16–19 July Semi-finals: 22–23 July Final: 27 July