England say Women's EURO legacy is already evident in Switzerland

Having hosted and won UEFA Women's EURO 2022, England's players have witnessed the positive impact a tournament can have on a host nation.

After seeing attendance records being broken and the Swiss public embracing Women's EURO 2025, the Lionesses are hopeful the growth in female grassroots and elite football England has experienced will be mirrored in Switzerland. Alessia Russo said: "You can already see it, with Switzerland qualifying for the knockout stages. I watched that game and you can just feel the way that the country is behind them, like it was for us when we hosted, and Australia [at the 2023 Women's World Cup].

"You want all these teams, all these fans, to fall in love with women's football, and fall in love with players, and when you host a tournament, that connection grows even bigger. I hope it happens here in Switzerland – you can feel it already – and, hopefully, they keep boosting the women's game and many more girls can start playing football."

Alayah Pilgrim signs a flag after Switzerland's draw against FinlandUEFA via Getty Images

During the group stage, the Lionesses trained in front of local youth teams at their Zurich training base, Sportanlage Au, and spent time with the children afterwards, signing autographs and taking photographs.

Ella Toone said: "Things like that are why we do it – to make young girls be able to dream and be role models. It was nice for them to watch training and for the Switzerland national team, it's massive for them to host a home EURO. Hopefully, just like we did, they can make their nation proud and be role models to the young girls starting out in their journeys."

The Swiss Football Association's legacy plan Here to Stay, in collaboration with UEFA, aims to double the number of women and girls playing football in the country and strengthen the standards, venues and visibility of the Swiss Women's National League.

Swiss and international fans have already set attendance records, with 461,582 spectators attending Women's EURO group games – more than ever before – and 22 of the 24 group stage matches sold out.

Jess Carter said: "The success we've seen in England in the women's game, from young girls being involved in sport to attendances at games, that's what we want for every single women's team across the world. Hopefully by having another successful tournament in Switzerland, and having such a high-standard tournament, that will encourage more people to be involved."

UEFA's six-year women’s football strategy, Unstoppable, aims to make football the most-played team sport for women and girls in every European country, and Leah Williamson said England has set an example others can follow.

Swiss fans have come out in numbers to get behind all the teams at the finalsUEFA via Getty Images

"I think we knew the potential of [Women's EURO] 2022, we just didn't know how much and how quickly it was all going to happen," the England captain said. "I'm glad that it happened [in England], because we were ready for it, and the [English Football Association] did great things – the clubs around the country did great things – off the back of it."

For Russo, watching the legacy unfold in England has taken her on a personal journey: "We didn't know what we were doing in terms of how much impact we could have, and once we actually won that trophy, the change and the success has been empowering for us as players. We want to keep pushing for more and keep bringing through as many girls as we can."