UEFA European Championship

The history of the Women’s Euros

Women’s football is on the up and up, and Euro 2022 in England is set to be a record-breaker.

More tickets were sold in the presale window for Euro 2022 than for the whole of Euro 2017, with hundreds of thousands of fans set to pack stadiums up and down the country to see some of the world’s finest talent take to the field.

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The Women’s Euros has undergone plenty of changes in recent years, only gaining official European Championship status in the 1990s.

Before that it was known as the UEFA European Competition for Representative Women’s teams, with the first-ever final contested between England and Sweden in 1984.

The popularity of the women’s game boomed in the late 1990s, and the Euros has expanded from four teams through to its current format of 16.

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Germany set the standard

As we head into Euro 2022, only four nations have won the Women’s Euros – and one country has been responsible for a remarkable eight titles.

The dominance of Germany in the women’s game during the last three decades was near total. Between 1989 (as West Germany) and 2013, Germany won eight out of a possible nine Women’s Euros.

Investment in the women’s game in Germany set the standard for other countries to follow, and the overall talent level of women’s football in Europe skyrocketed. Still, there was no stopping those Germans – until a surprise loss to host side Netherlands at Euro 2017.

With their outstanding Women’s Euros pedigree, it’s no surprise to find Germany among the favourites yet again as Euro 2022 kicks off.

England at the Euros

In contrast to the dominance of Germany, England are yet to taste victory at the Women’s Euros – although they have twice finished as runners-up, in the inaugural 1984 tournament and again in 2009.

The Lionesses made the semi-finals at Euro 2017 and will hope to go at least as far this time round. The last time the Euros were played in England, in 2005, the Lionesses crashed out in the group stage – but this is a much stronger side than back then, led by their talismanic goalscorer Ellen White and their new boss, Sarina Wiegman.

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Last time out: Euro 2017

Euro 2017 took place in the Netherlands and was the first Women’s Euros to feature 16 teams. In a thrilling tournament full of surprises, only two teams failed to pick up a single point – including the 2013 runners-up, Norway.

England knocked out France on the way to the semi-finals, but they would fall to the eventual champions: the host nation themselves, Netherlands. Oranje beat Denmark 4-2 in the final in front of a sell-out crowd, becoming the first team to win the Euros on home soil since Germany in 2011.

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