by Sportswriter Martina Fuchs
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Nadine Kessler, Managing Director of Women's Football of The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) told Xinhua in an interview here that global collaboration is crucial for the promotion of women's sports.
"In the world of football, global collaboration beyond our region is the most important factor for our jobs. We want women's football as a whole to grow," said Kessler, a former German international midfield player, during the 53rd St. Gallen Symposium, a leading global initiative for inter-generational dialogue on economic, political and social developments which takes place annually.
"China has been an instrumental country in the evolution of women's football. It has had a very strong national team historically, and therefore a very key player in this big picture that we want to achieve that woman's football is the top of women's sports," Kessler highlighted.
"Therefore, we want to continue to work together and do all our best because that's what we need: to grow all together."
The symposium, a premier platform for inter-generational dialogue on key socio-economic and political issues, runs from May 2-3 and features over 100 speakers and 1,200 participants. This year's theme, "Confronting Scarcity," addresses various global challenges.
Switzerland is set to host the next UEFA Women's EURO in the summer of 2025. The tournament, occurring across eight Swiss cities, aims to attract over 720,000 spectators.
"The UEFA women's 2025 is arriving and will be here for the first time in Switzerland and eight host cities. Once more, we want to send the message that both boys and girls can do this sport, can enjoy playing football and we want to reach the world," Kessler stressed.
"We had a global live audience of the last edition of roughly 375 million, now we want to go up to 500 million viewers. We want to make this a sellout tournament and reinforce its status that it already has as the biggest European women's sports events. We want to do that with Switzerland and break new records next year."
The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, is held every four years and one year after the men's UEFA European Championship and was first held in 1984. Germany is the most successful team in the tournament's history, with eight titles. England is the current champion, having won the 2022 tournament.
"Women's football has been a key priority for UEFA for the last years and it will be for sure going forward," Kessler emphasized.
"We have almost invested 500 million (euros) just in the last six years, and we will continue to do so. We want this to be the sport for women and girls both on an amateur level but also as a professional, it should be a job."
"Players all over the world in China, Japan, wherever, should come to Europe and feel that this is the home, their home to play professional football," Kessler stressed.
Kessler who oversees the strategic direction of women's football in Europe, highlighted her role in leading all women's competitions and development projects. In 2014, she was named FIFA World Player of the Year and UEFA Best Women's Player in Europe, and she has won the UEFA Women's Champions League three times with Vfl Wolfsburg and FFC Turbine Potsdam. ■
