February 19 – The German FA (DFB) has shortlisted 11 host cities for the country’s bid for the women’s European Championship in 2029.
Berlin, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hanover, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Rostock and Wolfsburg made the final cut. The DFB rejected applications from Hamburg, Essen and Bremen.
“The fact that so many attractive locations want to be part of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2029 is further evidence of the enormous development and growth potential of women’s football in Germany,” said DFB president Bernd Neuendorf in a statement.
“Our goals are clear: We want a European Championship that will sustainably advance the development of women’s football across borders.”
By June, the DFB will trim the shortlist further to select the successful host cities. Bidding nations have to submit a final bid dossier by the end of summer before the European confederation will appoint the tournament hosts in December.
Germany’s bid will face competition from Poland, Portugal and Italy. Sweden and Denmark have launched a joint bid, leaving Norway, a co-bidder in the failed attempt to host Euro 2025, out in the cold.
West Germany hosted the Women’s European Championship in 1989. The Women’s Euro returned to a unified Germany in 2001. Together with Belgium and the Netherlands, Germany failed to land the 2027 World Cup, losing out to Brazil.
“We want to sell more than a million tickets and thus be the first women’s European Championship in history to make a financial profit,” said DFB general secretary Heike Ullrich.
“We are now continuing to work intensively and are looking forward to the next milestone in this process, the submission of the provisional application documents to UEFA by March 12, 2025.”
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