EURO 2025 Women's Football Tournament Mascot Launched

The mascot's name was inspired by Madeleine Boll, the first female player to be licensed to play in Switzerland, the organisers said. She was a youth player for FC Sion, receiving her license in 1964. However, when she was just 12 years old, the authorities revoked her license when they realised they had accidentally issued it to a girl.

Speaking to reporters at the launch of the mascot for the EURO 2025 women's football tournament, Madeleine Boll, who later became captain of the Swiss women's football team, reminisced about the early days when women's football was still very new. She expressed her emotions when witnessing the remarkable development of this sport over the past 60 years. Boll also shared that she was extremely proud of the journey she had gone through and saw the development of women's football as a wonderful gift that she had the opportunity to contribute to.

Next year, Europe’s best women’s players will compete in stadiums in Switzerland, where the first women’s football tournament was not held until 1970. At the launch event, mascot Maddli, wearing the number 25, took the train from Geneva to Zurich to arrive at the Letzigrund stadium, where Switzerland were beaten 6-0 by Germany in front of 17,306 fans, a record attendance for a women’s match in Switzerland. Tournament ambassador and former player Lara Dickenmann added: “Maddli’s energy, passion and love of football perfectly capture the spirit of this tournament and our beautiful country. I am sure she will inspire young fans across Europe.”

On the same day, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) announced the launch of the mascot in Switzerland. The announcement highlighted that Saint Bernards are a famous rescue dog breed from Switzerland, admired for their courage, gentle nature and remarkable ability to assist in rescue missions in challenging high-altitude environments. These rich characteristics make Maddli the perfect companion on the journey to the "Peak of Emotions".

The EURO 2025 Women's Football Championship is scheduled to take place from July 2 to 27, 2025. Currently, nine teams have secured tickets to participate, including the host team Switzerland, defending champions England, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Meanwhile, the remaining 14 teams will compete for the last seven tickets. The draw for the tournament will take place on December 16 in the city of Lausanne.

UEFA is currently selling 720,000 tickets for EURO 2024 matches, with the cheapest ticket price being 25 francs (about 28 USD). According to the announcement, 31 matches will be held in 8 cities: Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Sion, Thun and Zurich. The opening match and the final will be held at St. Jakob-Park in Basel.