“The Spanish league is not going how we would like,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live in September 2024. ”When England won the Euros, everyone could see a really big change in the league. We’ve missed that in Spain. We won the World Cup and it changed nothing.”
But the recent advancement of women’s football in England was not solely about winning Euro 2022 — hosting the tournament was just as important. The cumulative attendance was just under 575,000, with most fans from the host nation. People saw it for themselves.
When England battled their way to the final at Wembley, there was a remarkable scramble to find tickets. There was a buzz around the country that only happens when you host major sporting events.
Now the United Kingdom is set to host another, after it was announced as the only bidder for the Women’s World Cup in 2035.
Of course, Euro 2022 would not have been the same if England had not reached the final, and their 2-1 victory over Germany meant their post-match party lasted a week, the post-tournament euphoria lasted a month, and the subsequent attendance boost lasted for a season. There would not have been the same impact if England had won a major tournament in the early hours, as Spain did a year later in Australia.
Every couple of years, the rest of the footballing world gets irritated by English football fans singing about football “coming home”. It is, to some, a sign of arrogance that the English should refer to the trophy in this manner.
The truth, though, is that Three Lions originally referred to England hosting, rather than winning, the European Championship in 1996. The men behind the song, Frank Skinner and David Baddiel, were tasked with creating a piece of music about English football, but they were asked to include the motto of Euro ’96, ‘When Football Comes Home’.
There was genuine pride that England was hosting an international tournament in a sport it had codified and exported worldwide. National sporting successes remembered fondly in this country since then — the Ashes in 2005, the Olympics in 2012, the Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2017, the men’s Cricket World Cup in 2019, and most relevantly the Women’s Euros in 2022 — have not merely featured England or Great Britain performing well, but hosting the event.
“We know from the experience of the Euros how big the game is already here and what the momentum did in the country,” said England manager Sarina Wiegman in response to the news about 2035. “Another tournament on an even bigger stage would be incredible and give another boost to the game.”
For all the warm memories of Euro 2022, hosting World Cup 2035 will be a different proposition, even beyond the fact that matches will be played in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, too. Some Euro 2022 matches were played in small venues in Rotherham and Leigh, as well as at Manchester City’s academy stadium. Only the opening game, at Old Trafford, and the final, at Wembley, were played at grounds with a capacity greater than 33,000. Leigh does not have a train station, and the semi-final played at Milton Keynes was compromised by ...
