UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin confirmed on Monday that the governing body for football in Europe is committed to helping women’s football recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
UEFA believes that the pandemic had exposed the fragility of women’s football in Europe. The association said that women’s football was still working towards creating a sustainable future at both the elite and grassroots level, however UEFA is determined to put women’s football back on the front foot.
Čeferin said that women’s football is a major aspect of UEFA’s overall strategy.
“The consequences of COVID-19 will be felt by football for some time, but it is at times like these that UEFA’s support is more important than ever for safeguarding the long-term future of women’s football in Europe,” he said in a statement.
“We remain fully committed to our long-term vision for the women’s game set out in Time for Action. We have already secured all the funding needed to implement the strategy over the next four years. This means that we will still be investing more in the female game than ever before.”
Time for Action is a five-year strategy for women’s football which was launched at the Women’s Champions League Final in May 2019.
The 2019/20 UEFA Women’s Champions League Final was played on Sunday in Spain – Lyon defeated Wolfsburg 3-1 to claim their fifth title in a row.
“The UEFA Women’s Champions League is one of the first female sports competitions to return to play,” said Čeferin.
“I am confident it will help kick-start the resumption of most domestic competitions across the continent.”
A first year progress report on the Time for Action strategy was also released by UEFA last week. The report revealed that UEFA was on track to meet its objectives despite the pandemic with participation and public perception of women’s football improving.
“Together with our stakeholders and partners, we can be proud of how we have progressed in the first year of the strategy,” UEFA’s Chief of Women’s Football, Nadine Kessler said.
“Women’s football has already evolved into a strong position and has always been resilient. While the challenge is greater, it’s not insurmountable. There is so much more to look forward to.”
Women’s domestic football is starting to return across Europe – over 20 domestic competitions have returned while another 26 are preparing to start their 2020/21 seasons.