Switzerland's stadium gamble pays off at Euro 2025 with sold-out crowds and electric atmospheres

New York Times

25-07-2025

Walking along the west side of St Jakob-Park, you would be mistaken for thinking the biggest stadium at Euro 2025 is bubble-wrapped, padded in jumbo squares of opaque gauze, bracing for a battle.
In many ways, it is. Being inside Basel's 34,250-capacity arena is to have your insides shake, the guttural roars rebounding off each other in this intimate, sunset-trapped space.
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This was the case for the opening match of the European Championship, between hosts Switzerland and Group A opponents Norway, again for Germany's group-stage win against Denmark, and once again for Germany's stunning quarter-final victory against France.
However, not everyone was expecting such raucous atmospheres before the tournament began.
When Switzerland's initial host bid was lodged, there were various doubts, but none more so than about stadium size. Would awarding the tournament to Switzerland, whose proposed stadiums boast an average capacity of 20,000, be a backwards step? When the tournament was held in England three years earlier, the average capacity the stadiums was more than 33,000.
'At one point, people in UEFA even told us to withdraw our bid,' the former Swiss Football Association's head of women's and girls' Tatjana Haenni told The Athletic in June. ''Your chances are so small. Why don't you withdraw? England was such a success, we cannot go to a small country now'.'
At risk of spoiling nothing, Switzerland met doubts over stadium size with a convincing argument of growth within Switzerland and beyond, supplementing the ecosystem of women's football as opposed to perpetuating the accepted hierarchy. Their bid defeated those from Poland, France and a joint-Nordic bid of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
Switzerland's bid team argued that it was better to be full in small stadiums 90 per cent of the time rather than full in big stadiums 50 per cent of the time. While England's average capacity for the 2022 tournament was much higher, for example, the discrepancy between stadium sizes and attendances is arresting.
England's opening Euro 2022 match against Austria at Old Trafford and their final at Wembley Stadium against Germany brought record crowds (68,871 and 87,192).
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Yet, just 9,000 of St Mary's 31,000 seats were full for Norway's 4-1 win against Northern Ireland in Southampton, while the 30,500-capacity MK Stadium was just over half full for Spain's 4-1 triumph over Finland. Manchester City's Joie Stadium, which typically holds 7,000 for Manchester City Women's Super League games, had its capacity slashed to 4,400 due to two standing-only ends not complying with UEFA regulations.
Iceland midfielder Gunnhildur Yrsa Jonsdottir told reporters at the time: 'I'm not going to lie, when we first saw that it was there, it was a disappointment. But then we can't change that, it is what it is. I hope they learn from it.'
Switzerland maintained that an average capacity of 20,000 was neither overly ambitious nor too modest, but rather perfectly matched the moment in which women's football found itself. In a way, it was a litmus test: women's football was growing, but how much of that was in pockets or across the board?
If the group stage is anything to go by, it seems the game is increasing in popularity across Europe. According to UEFA, Euro 2025's group stage had the highest cumulative attendance figure (461,582) of a Women's European Championship, with 22 of 24 matches sold out. The highest attendance at a group-stage match not involving the host nation was broken twice, first with the 29,520 who attended Spain's 5-0 win against Portugal in Bern, then by the 34,165 who watched Germany defeat Denmark 2-1 in Basel.
The average attendance of the group stage in total was 19,233 per match, just under the tournament's average capacity.
The numbers tell only part of the story.
In St Gallen for Wales' second match against France, the compact atmosphere of the 19,000-capacity Kybunpark made for a raucous affair, the proximity of the stands to the pitch creating a cavern of noise.
There has been an element of good fortune, too.
The Athletic attended Portugal's final group-stage match against Belgium in Sion's Stade de Tourbillon, the tournament's smallest stadium (7,750). If the ground was any bigger, it might have devoured this match into silence. Belgium were out and Portugal needed a minor miracle. Switzerland fans, along with a sprinkling of Wales fans, buffered the gaps.
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It was more of the same in Norway's group-stage win against Finland. In a stadium double the size, it was not difficult to imagine the atmosphere falling flat, of empty seats and negative videos circling online. The reverse could also have been problematic: had Switzerland's home match with Iceland or Spain against Portugal taken place in Sion, there would likely have been an outcry over a lack of capacity.
An early worry percolating among some high-ranking officials in UEFA was a potential drop-off in attendances, particularly if the hosts went out early. Instead, the quarter-finals shattered more records: 34,128 watched Germany's victory over France, with an unprecedented 112,535 attending the four quarter-finals in total.
As the tournament has progressed and attendance records have continued to break, some critics believe Switzerland underestimated the demand for tickets, particularly from travelling supporters. England's semi-final victory against Italy boasted an attendance of 26,359, with Spain's 1-0 extra-time semi-final victory against Germany watched in front of a sold-out crowd in Zurich's Stadion Letzigrund, breaking another cumulative record: Euro 2025 is already the most-attended tournament in women's Euros history (623,088).
With ticket touts and genuine fans alike standing outside, hoisting placards in the air and begging for tickets, a sense of disappointment wafted as the matches kicked off.
However, one official in UEFA, who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships, points to the long-term benefit that sold-out stadiums and increased ticket demand can reap. Previously, the culture at women's football allowed ticket purchase on matchdays. Now, tickets are desired commodities that need to be purchased well in advance, cultivating a reputation as something desirable and meaningful. Equally, the fervour of the group stages and the sold-out arenas — allied with the quality of the teams and games themselves — have played a vital role in creating the sense that this tournament is the hottest ticket in town.
Hindsight is a bitter luxury in football, but atmosphere is priceless. Switzerland has cultivated the latter exquisitely. It is proof that potential is now active growth.
'When you're looking at staging any tournament, you want to have a flexible range of stadiums,' Mark Bullingham, the England Football Association's chief executive, said on Thursday. 'Switzerland have done a great job here. They've filled out every stadium apart from two games, which is a great record and they should be proud of that.
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'We need to continue to be bolder. I remember when we decided to go to Old Trafford (for the opening game in 2022), a lot of people thought we were a little bit crazy because it was such a big statement at the time, but then we sold it out and that helped set a standard. Here, they've set a brilliant standard of filling every stadium.'