July 23 – UEFA has announced the bidding process for the 2029 women’s Euros, with prospective candidates given until September 24 to declare their interest and the hosts to be chosen in December 2025.
The tournament is set to feature 16 teams, as has been the case for the previous two events. Joint bids are permitted, provided that the bidding countries are geographically compact.
Interested parties will need to provide 8 stadiums, with the following capacities:
- Minimum of 1 stadium with a gross seating capacity of at least 50,000 seats
- Minimum of 3 stadiums with a gross seating capacity of at least 30,000 seats
- Minimum of 4 stadiums with a gross seating capacity of 20,000 seats
All proposed stadiums must have natural grass playing surfaces. The bidding timeline, which interested parties will need to follow, is as follows:
- 24 September 2024 – Deadline for UEFA member associations to confirm their interest in bidding
- 1 October 2024 – Bid requirements published to all interested bidders
- 12 March 2025 – Submission of the Preliminary Bid Dossier
- 28 August 2025 – Submission of the final Bid Dossier
- December 2025 – Appointment of host(s) of UEFA Women’s EURO 2029
Crucially, to ensure compatibility with the competition’s sporting and commercial format, the automatic qualification of the host team(s) shall be guaranteed only for a single host or, in case of joint bids, for a maximum of two joint host associations.
After losing out to Switzerland for 2025, Nordic neighbours Denmark and Sweden have already declared their intention to bid for 2029.
The two countries were part of an ultimately unsuccessful four-nation to host the tournament next year together with Finland and Norway.
Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands combined for a bid for the 2027 World Cup but were unlucky to lose out to the Brazil bid in a politically influenced vote. It is unclear whether they will go again and submit bids – either separately or as partners – for the Euros. The Netherlands hosted in 2017 and the Germans in 2001.
In the 13 previous editions of the tournament, no more than two countries had ever been elected as hosts of the women’s European Championship which began in 1984.
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