The Kickstart Toolbox: A perfect introduction to football for girls in Switzerland

After girls across Switzerland were inspired by Women’s EURO 2025 on home soil this summer, the Swiss Football Association (SFA) has devised a way to ensure those new enthusiasts have what they need to nurture a long-term love of football.

Over the past few months, SFA grassroots experts have developed the Kickstart Toolbox, packed with resources and information that gives teachers and coaches everything they need to help more girls enjoy football.

Now available to schools and clubs all over Switzerland, the Kickstart Toolbox is merely the latest initiative by which the Here to Stay legacy project is capitalising on the success of Women’s EURO 2025 and protecting the long-term future of women’s football.

"Many girls are currently discovering football for themselves and emulating their Women’s EURO 2025 heroines,” said Marion Daube, SFA director of women's football. “I'm delighted that we can now provide them with the Kickstart Toolbox, which supports them in their entry into football and addresses their needs.”

Football for a lifetime

The Kickstart Toolbox offers resources which are age-appropriate and tailored specifically to girls, helping to keep the flame started by Women’s EURO 2025 alive – with separate resources available for schools and clubs.

Each toolbox contains all the building blocks for successful course and training support, including a range of drills in 25 different formats with practical, easy-to-understand instructions, topic cards with valuable specialist knowledge and practical tips for coaches and teachers.

School and Club editions of the Kickstart Toolbox are available in German, French and Italian

There are also posters and stickers to raise awareness of girls’ football, and a postcard designed to support the ‘one-two’ project, which initiates collaboration between schools and local clubs to optimise opportunities for girls in each area.

The toolbox is sustainably designed, so that content can be used time and time again, and all the information can alternatively be accessed online.

"With the Kickstart Toolbox, we provide schools and clubs with excellent support – so that as many girls as possible can have positive first experiences and enjoy football for a lifetime," said Phyllis Bussinger, SFA project manager for legacy grassroots football.

Equal opportunities for girls

Backed by €11m in funding, the overarching aim of the SFA’s Here to Stay strategy is to double the number of females participating in all areas across the game, from those scoring goals on the pitch to those making decisions in the boardroom, by the end of 2027.

The exhilarating football that Women’s EURO 2025 brought to Switzerland in July is already having an impact in the host nation, with a record number of female players, coaches, referees and officials now involved in the game.

Daube is delighted that the programme is off to a strong start. "It is gratifying that we are seeing record numbers in all areas of women's football, both in terms of players and coaches, officials and referees,” she said.

"We are on the right track with our nationwide legacy projects to promote women's football in the long term and move closer to our goal of providing girls and women with equal opportunities and prospects."