Blanc stays at the helm in Switzerland
Monday, June 5, 2023
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Dominique Blanc has been re-elected for a third term as president of the Swiss Football Association (SFV/ASF).
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Blanc, a successful business director as well as a former player and referee, was confirmed in office by acclamation for a two-year mandate at the association’s delegates’ meeting. He was first elected as president in 2019.
"We can look back on successful years with our women's and men's national teams," Blanc told the meeting. "The men qualified for both EURO 2020 and the 2022 World Cup, the women qualified for the World Cup in the summer of 2023, and we brought the Women's EURO 2025 to Switzerland."
The Women's EURO, featuring 16 teams, will take place across eight stadiums in Switzerland. With a combined capacity of 175,000, more than 700,000 tickets will be made available for the 31 matches to be played.
"Moreover, the number of girls and boys playing football in Switzerland is steadily increasing," Blanc added. "However, we want to continue to improve in terms of breadth and at the top, and above all to promote and develop women's football even more."
Women to play leading SFV role
The SFV/ASF delegates' meeting also decided on a structural reform. In future, at least two women will be members of the central executive board, which will be increased by two seats to nine. Currently, the board consists of seven men.
"Two women on the central executive board - this is another historic step in Swiss football," said Blanc. "Women should play a leading role in Swiss football in the future,"
In his address, Blanc called Switzerland "a university of football". In addition to professionalised club development, he emphasised the impact of training and development programmes for players throughout the country, from which not only the national teams, but also clubs all over the world are now benefiting.
Other priorities, he said, included the need to further develop grassroots structures and encourage participation by increasing the number of pitches across Switzerland, and constantly monitoring the degree of satisfaction of the Swiss FA's employees to ensure that the association remains an attractive organisation.
