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Sweden's Soft Hooligans push better vibes at Women's Euros
Sweden's Soft Hooligans push better vibes at Women's Euros

Yahoo

timea day ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Sweden's Soft Hooligans push better vibes at Women's Euros

Swedish fans support their team during Saturday's 4-1 win over Germany at Women's Euro 2025 (SEBASTIEN BOZON) Swedish supporters' group the Soft Hooligans have brought their chants, drums and message of inclusion to Switzerland to support their national team at Euro 2025, to promote good vibes in the stands and better conditions for women's football. The idea for the Soft Hooligans came about in 2017 when Kajsa Aronsson, 61, and her daughter Estrid Kjellman, 29, attended the Women's Euros in the Netherlands. Advertisement "It was just so incredibly dead. We shouted sometimes, we cheered, and people looked at us as if we were completely crazy," Kjellman told AFP. "We joked that we were hooligans. And then we were like: 'But we're not like other hooligans, we're soft hooligans'," she added with a big smile. The young woman then created a Facebook group to spread their message. "In the beginning, there was no defined cheering section," Aronsson explained. "We had to build everything from scratch and get people to want to stand in the stands. Early on, it wasn't even that much fun to attend the games. You were on your own," Kjellman said. Advertisement Eight years later, with the Women's Euros now underway in Switzerland, the atmosphere has changed significantly, the two women noted, sitting in front of a ski lift in an alpine landscape wearing caps with the slogans "More Women in Football" and "Soft Hooligans". "There are many more Swedes here. I think there's a big difference with the other teams too," said Kjellman. "In England, there were several matches where the opposing team basically had no supporters. Now I think most teams have some kind of organised supporter group," she added. A change they welcome enthusiastically. Advertisement "We definitely cheer for Sweden the most. But then you support women's football and want there to be more atmosphere, better football, better conditions," said Kjellman. "The culture in the stands is also a big part of making it more and more interesting to go to women's football matches." - Political message - The Soft Hooligans stick to some core values: "Everyone should feel welcome," Kjellman stressed, underlining the inclusive and LGBTQ-friendly nature of the group. "There are many families and children in the stands," Aronsson explained. Their movement is not, however, without its detractors. Advertisement "We receive mocking comments about our name," Kjellman said. "But we choose not to focus on that," her mother added. Kjellman lamented the ever-present political aspect of women's football. "Women's football is still very marginalised. In Sweden, we've come a long way. But there's still a long way to go," she said. "In other parts of the world, girls don't have the opportunity to play football at all." The two women are optimistic about younger generations. "Women's football is much more accepted today. Now we have children who have (Spanish double Ballon d'Or winner Aitana) Bonmati as their favourite football player," Kjellman noted. Advertisement For the more immediate future, the Soft Hooligans are hoping for a Swedish victory in this year's Euros. In the stands, their massive banner proclaims "41 Years Since Last Time" on one side and "Bringing the Gold Home" on the other, referring to Sweden's triumph at the inaugural Women's Euros in 1984. They are through to the quarter-finals in Switzerland after a completing a perfect group stage campaign with a 4-1 win over Germany on Saturday. "I have never, as a national coach, experienced the kind of support we had," said Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson. Advertisement "There was a whole section that was completely yellow with a little bit of blue, and we had people above our bench, so we were enclosed in a cool way." Sweden will stay in Zurich for their quarter-final against reigning champions England. "It feels great that we are playing here again on Thursday, almost like home advantage," said Gerhardsson. str/ef/jll/po/mw

Spain the stars as Women's Euro 2025 heads into knockouts
Spain the stars as Women's Euro 2025 heads into knockouts

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Spain the stars as Women's Euro 2025 heads into knockouts

Spain have lived up to their billing as the team to beat at Women's Euro 2025 as the world champions prepare to take on hosts Switzerland in the quarter-finals, with a potential final with England on the horizon. The most talented squad at the tournament, Spain rattled in 14 goals, including four for leading scorer Esther Gonzalez, on their way to topping Group B and remain red-hot favourites to win their first European crown. Advertisement Alexia Putellas has bolstered her claim for a third Ballon d'Or as the shining light of a Spain outfit which has sprinkled stardust over the competition. Barcelona star Putellas scored three goals and set up four more in Spain's three group games as she brought her sparkling club form to her national team. Putellas told AFP last week that she is "enjoying" the tournament after roaring back to her best form last season following an injury nightmare which began with an ACL tear just before the start of the last Euros three years ago. "It was a tough time, like any injury that any athlete has if it's serious. They leave you with those lessons and you savour every moment," said Putellas. Advertisement "Maybe when you enter a cycle of competing, competing, competing, you don't stop to appreciate everything. But I'm enjoying every day here at the Euros." The stars seem to be aligning for Spain who also have current Ballon d'Or holder Aitana Bonmati fully match fit after she started her first match of the tournament in Friday's 3-1 win over Italy. Bonmati's chances of playing in Switzerland briefly looked in doubt when she was struck with a bout of viral meningitis days before Spain's opening group match against Portugal. But she recovered quickly enough to feature in the 5-0 hammering of the Portuguese and the following 6-2 beating of Belgium before making the starting XI for Italy. Advertisement "She did a good job coming off a difficult situation, and she was really looking forward to starting some games," said Spain coach Montse Tome. Spain will also have a full week to prepare for their clash with their Swiss hosts, which will be played on Friday in front of a passionate crowd in Bern. - England threat? - However, for all that Spain are free-flowing and full of goalscoring dynamos, they can be got at, as shown in matches against Belgium and Italy who both created a series of opportunities against the high Spanish defensive line. Among the teams standing in Spain's way are England and Sweden, who face off in a blockbuster quarter-final which is also a replay of the Lionesses thumping last-four victory on their way to winning the last Euros. Advertisement England and Sweden are both on the other side of the knockout draw from Spain, who will face one of Germany or dark horses France in the semi-finals if La Roja get past the Swiss. And the Swedes laid down a marker with Saturday's 3-1 win over Germany which sealed top spot in Group C, a sensational performance which suggested they could get revenge on England for defeat in 2022. But England coach Sarina Wiegman cut a confident figure after her team demolished Wales 6-1 on Sunday and is unconcerned about the path to the final. "I think that in tournaments, that it's really tricky to think 'we want to go that way (in the draw) because then we might have this and this'. If you start thinking like that, that's very tricky," she told reporters. Advertisement "What you're trying to do is win every game and then see where you finish in the group and then you'll play who's against you or in front of you and that's what it is. If you want to be successful in the tournament, you should be able to win every single game." France, like England, scored 11 times in the group stage and with the hot form of Delphine Cascarino will be a handful for any team after winning Group D, the toughest in the tournament, with a perfect nine points. td/nr

Spain the stars as Women's Euro 2025 heads into knockouts
Spain the stars as Women's Euro 2025 heads into knockouts

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Sport
  • Yahoo

Spain the stars as Women's Euro 2025 heads into knockouts

Spain have lived up to their billing as the team to beat at Women's Euro 2025 as the world champions prepare to take on hosts Switzerland in the quarter-finals, with a potential final with England on the horizon. The most talented squad at the tournament, Spain rattled in 14 goals, including four for leading scorer Esther Gonzalez, on their way to topping Group B and remain red-hot favourites to win their first European crown. Advertisement Alexia Putellas has bolstered her claim for a third Ballon d'Or as the shining light of a Spain outfit which has sprinkled stardust over the competition. Barcelona star Putellas scored three goals and set up four more in Spain's three group games as she brought her sparkling club form to her national team. Putellas told AFP last week that she is "enjoying" the tournament after roaring back to her best form last season following an injury nightmare which began with an ACL tear just before the start of the last Euros three years ago. "It was a tough time, like any injury that any athlete has if it's serious. They leave you with those lessons and you savour every moment," said Putellas. Advertisement "Maybe when you enter a cycle of competing, competing, competing, you don't stop to appreciate everything. But I'm enjoying every day here at the Euros." The stars seem to be aligning for Spain who also have current Ballon d'Or holder Aitana Bonmati fully match fit after she started her first match of the tournament in Friday's 3-1 win over Italy. Bonmati's chances of playing in Switzerland briefly looked in doubt when she was struck with a bout of viral meningitis days before Spain's opening group match against Portugal. But she recovered quickly enough to feature in the 5-0 hammering of the Portuguese and the following 6-2 beating of Belgium before making the starting XI for Italy. Advertisement "She did a good job coming off a difficult situation, and she was really looking forward to starting some games," said Spain coach Montse Tome. Spain will also have a full week to prepare for their clash with their Swiss hosts, which will be played on Friday in front of a passionate crowd in Bern. - England threat? - However, for all that Spain are free-flowing and full of goalscoring dynamos, they can be got at, as shown in matches against Belgium and Italy who both created a series of opportunities against the high Spanish defensive line. Among the teams standing in Spain's way are England and Sweden, who face off in a blockbuster quarter-final which is also a replay of the Lionesses thumping last-four victory on their way to winning the last Euros. Advertisement England and Sweden are both on the other side of the knockout draw from Spain, who will face one of Germany or dark horses France in the semi-finals if La Roja get past the Swiss. And the Swedes laid down a marker with Saturday's 3-1 win over Germany which sealed top spot in Group C, a sensational performance which suggested they could get revenge on England for defeat in 2022. But England coach Sarina Wiegman cut a confident figure after her team demolished Wales 6-1 on Sunday and is unconcerned about the path to the final. "I think that in tournaments, that it's really tricky to think 'we want to go that way (in the draw) because then we might have this and this'. If you start thinking like that, that's very tricky," she told reporters. Advertisement "What you're trying to do is win every game and then see where you finish in the group and then you'll play who's against you or in front of you and that's what it is. If you want to be successful in the tournament, you should be able to win every single game." France, like England, scored 11 times in the group stage and with the hot form of Delphine Cascarino will be a handful for any team after winning Group D, the toughest in the tournament, with a perfect nine points. td/nr

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