Pub gardens, community spirit, statement fashion, and the kind of girlhood that thrives in group chats and stretches into long summer evenings. That’s the heart of the Women’s Euros 2025, and we want you to be part of it.

The domestic season may be over, but international football is just getting started and we’re so here for it. With the tournament on the way, we’ve put together a no-fuss cheat sheet to help you feel fully in the know, because football is for everyone, and you deserve to feel part of it.

The Lionesses made history in 2022 when they lifted the trophy at Wembley, becoming European champions in front of a sold-out crowd. From packed pubs to unforgettable goals, that summer of women’s football took over the country, and now, it’s back for round two. This time, England return as reigning champions, with everything to prove.

The 2025 tournament will be hosted in Switzerland, best known for its Alpine views, luxury lifestyle and (let’s be honest) very good cheese. But this summer, it’s all about women’s football. It’s officially on the map, and the world will be watching.

Here’s everything you need to know before it all kicks off.

The herstory of football…

Women’s football didn’t suddenly arrive in 2022. The Lionesses’ historic Euro win was a landmark moment, but it stood on the shoulders of generations who refused to be sidelined. Women who trained after long shifts, who juggled multiple jobs to represent club and country. Activists and organisers who demanded access, equality, and visibility long before anyone paid attention. And the players who kept the game alive even when the system tried to shut it down.

In 1921, the Football Association banned women’s football, declaring it “unsuitable for females.” That ban lasted 50 years. But women didn’t wait quietly. In 1971, as the ban was finally lifted, a group of trailblazing players took part in COPA71, an unofficial Women’s World Cup held outside FIFA’s control. It drew crowds of over 100,000, one of the biggest audiences for a women’s sporting event at the time. Back in England, though, their defiance came at a cost. Captain Carol Wilson, just 19 years old, was banned from playing for a further six months.