The wait is almost over. After a year’s delay, Euro 2022 will officially kick off on Wednesday night.
The UEFA Women’s Championship commonly referred to as the Women’s Euro or Euros for short, is a major international football tournament contested by the senior women’s national teams of UEFA member associations. The tournament is scheduled to take place in England from 7 June to 1 July 2022. After a year-long delay, the wait is almost over. On Wednesday night, the tournament will officially kick off with England taking on Scotland at Wembley Stadium. In this ultimate guide, we will provide you with all the information you need to know about the Women’s Euro 2022!
What is it?
The UEFA Women’s Championship is a biannual continental tournament for European women’s national teams. The competition is the female equivalent of the UEFA European Championship, commonly referred to as the Euros. The first edition of the Women’s Euros was held in 1984 and has been held every two years since then, with the exception of 2009 when it was canceled due to financial reasons
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UEFA announced that the tournament would be held from 11 July to 11 August 2021, before later postponing it again to its current dates of June and July 2022.
What teams are playing?
A total of 24 teams will be competing in the tournament, with hosts England qualifying automatically. The remaining 23 teams were decided through a qualifying process, which began in April 2019 and concluded in November 2020.
The qualified teams are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England (hosts), Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Wales.
What is the format?
The 24 teams will be split into six groups of four teams. The group stage will be played from 11 June to 25 June 2022. The top two teams in each group and the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the knockout stage.
The knockout stage will be played from 29 June to 01 July 2022. The quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will be played as single-leg matches hosted by one of the four qualified teams.
What are the venues?
A total of nine cities across England will be hosting matches at the tournament. The venues are:
– Wembley Stadium, London
– Coventry Stadium, Coventry
– Old Trafford, Manchester
– Anfield, Liverpool
– St. James’ Park, Newcastle
– Villa Park, Birmingham
– Elland Road, Leeds
– Bramall Lane, Sheffield
– Rotherham United Stadium, Rotherham
What is the prize money?
UEFA has announced that a total of €50 million will be awarded to participating teams at the Women’s Euros. This is double the amount of prize money that was available at the last tournament in 2017.
The winner of the tournament will receive €12 million, while the runner-up will receive €11 million. Each of the four semi-finalists will receive €600,000 and each of the eight quarter-finalists will receive €300,000. Lastly, each team that takes part in UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 will receive a minimum of €100,000.
When are the matches?
UEFA has released the full schedule for the tournament, which you can find here. The opening match of the tournament will take place on Wednesday night, with hosts England taking on Scotland at Wembley Stadium.
This will be followed by a double-header on Thursday night, with Group B teams Denmark and Belgium facing off in Utrecht before Group A teams Italy and Netherlands meet in Bologna.
How can I watch the matches?
In the United Kingdom, BBC One and BBC Two will share coverage of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. All 51 games will be available to watch live on either BBC One or BBC Two, with 31 of those games also being streamed live on the BBC iPlayer.
Coverage will be led by Jacqui Oatley, who will become the first woman to lead the BBC’s coverage of a major football tournament. She will be joined in the studio by former England internationals Alex Scott and Eniola Aluko, as well as ex-Scotland striker Noel Whelan.
In the United States, ESPN has the rights to UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 and will be broadcasting all 51 games live on its various channels.
How can I follow the tournament online?
You can follow UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 on UEFA.com, where you will find live updates, interviews, features and more. You can also follow the tournament on UEFA’s official Twitter account (@UEFAWomensEuro), as well as on the hashtag #WEURO2022.
Who are the favorites?
Germany is the current holder of the UEFA Women’s Championship and is also the most successful team in the history of the tournament, with eight titles to its name. They are once again one of the favorites to lift the trophy in 2022 and will be looking to make it nine titles overall.
Other teams that are expected to do well include France, England, and the Netherlands. All three teams have won the UEFA Women’s Championship before and will be looking to add another title to their collection in 2022.
Where is it being held? UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 will be held in England, with matches taking place in nine different cities across the country. This will be the first time that the UEFA Women’s Championship has been held in England, and it will also be the first major women’s football tournament to be held in the country since the 1995 FIFA Women’s
World Cup. The nine host cities are: – London- Manchester- Birmingham- Leeds- Sheffield- Rotherham- Milton Keynes- Bristol- Coventry UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 will officially kick off on Wednesday night, with hosts England taking on Scotland at Wembley Stadium. Wednesday night, and Wembley the final on Sunday, July 31.
