Finance Commission wants to extend subsidies for the Women’s European Football Championship
Published: Wednesday, May 8th 2024, 17:01
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The Finance Committee of the National Council (FK-N) wants to support the 2025 European Women's Football Championship in Switzerland with over CHF 15 million. That is four times more money than the Federal Council wants.
In a supplement to the 2024 budget, the committee wants to increase the CHF 4 million earmarked by the Federal Council by CHF 11 million, as announced on Wednesday. The commitment credit is to be used primarily for the promotion of sport, international communication and the integration of public transport into match tickets. The committee passed the resolution by 17 votes to 8.
The FK-N supported a corresponding motion by the Committee for Science, Education and Culture (WBK-S) that was adopted in the Council of States. The sister committee in the National Council also recommended the motion for approval. The final decision on the money in parliament is probably just a formality.
The Finance Committee of the Council of States also requested an additional credit of CHF 1 million and a commitment credit of CHF 5 million for Switzerland Tourism due to the Women's Football Championships. It also requested the same contributions for a combined public transport ticket.
In January, the Federal Council decided to support the European Championships with only CHF 4 million. One of the reasons it gave for this was the Confederation's strained financial situation.
The decision caused consternation among those affected. Critics argued that the amount was just one twentieth of the CHF 80 million that the federal government had spent on the 2008 European Men's Football Championship in Switzerland and Austria.
In summer 2025, eight Swiss cities will host the "Women's Euro 2025", the largest women's-specific sporting event in Europe. 16 European women's football teams will compete for the title. Around 700,000 visitors are expected to attend and half a billion people are likely to watch on television.
©Keystone/SDA
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