As part of the UEFA Women's EURO 2025, the City of Bern, together with the Canton of Bern and the Bern/Jura Regional Football Association (FVBJ), is implementing comprehensive legacy projects that are designed to both promote women's football and create sustainable sporting opportunities for the public. These projects range from infrastructural improvements to targeted programmes for young female athletes and women interested in sport.
New training pitches and pitch renovation
An important part of the legacy program is the creation of two new standard-sized training pitches at Grosse Allmend, which will be permanently available for amateur sports after the tournament. In addition, the grass pitch in the Neufeld stadium will be renovated. This upgrade will enable the pitch to be utilised to a greater extent and offer local clubs and amateur athletes an improved playing surface.
BSC YB, the canton of Bern and the municipalities of Ostermundigen and Bolligen, with the involvement of the city of Bern, have developed the idea of a regional football campus in Rörswil. They informed the media and public about this project at the end of April 2024. The regional football campus in Rörswil will include a football stadium with a capacity of 2,000 for the women's team and the oldest youth teams of BSC YB. In addition, eight training pitches - natural and artificial turf - are to be built. These will be available for competitive and school sports during the day and for amateur and youth sports in the evenings.
As part of the Canton of Bern's legacy programme, the city of Bern is receiving a mobile artificial turf pitch, which will be laid on a hard court, thus creating more capacity for football training.
Other projects of the Bern/Jura Football Association (FVBJ)
The FVBJ is involved in a wide range of projects that highlight and promote the role of women in football. These include awareness-raising videos, workshops to promote girls and women in clubs, a club management course for female officials, networking events for women in football, the introduction of a women's referee programme, over-30s tournaments and goalkeeper training for women. At the same time, the ‘empowHER’ initiative is running in collaboration with the BASPO's 7x1 innovation lab with the aim of increasing the number of female coaches in football.
These diverse projects are designed to promote enthusiasm for women's football and women in football and to strengthen gender equality in sport in the long term. The city of Bern is co-financing these projects and is using the momentum of Women's EURO 2025 to create a sustainable, sports-loving community and consolidate women's football in the region.
More information about the projects can be found on the FVBJ website.
Small infrastructure measures on football pitches in the city of Bern to promote girls' and women's football
As part of a survey, the Sports Department of the City of Bern asked football clubs in the city for suggestions on how to improve the infrastructure of football pitches in the city, specifically for girls' and women's football. Based on this survey, privacy measures will be implemented in the changing rooms of six sports grounds, for example. This will improve the conditions for girls and women in clubs in the long term.
Expansion of KIDS courses and voluntary school sports
The Sports Office of the City of Bern already offers special futsal courses for girls as part of the KIDS courses to arouse enthusiasm for football among young girls. In collaboration with Familie Quartier Stadt Bern (FQSB), a survey among girls and young women, particularly those with a migration background, is being conducted to better understand their needs in sports and to address them in a targeted manner. Based on the results, from the 2025/2026 school year onwards, the KIDS courses will be expanded to include basketball, boxing, handball, multi-sport ball games and dancing for girls and female adolescents.
The project Doppelpass of the Swiss Football Association (SFA) is being implemented in voluntary school sports, so that from the 2025/2026 school year onwards, schools will be able to offer activities for girls only in collaboration with the city of Bern’s football clubs as part of their voluntary school sports.
Girls Sports Day
Another project is the introduction of taster mornings, where girls can try out different sports. Sports clubs in the city of Bern will offer taster sessions so that participants can easily get to know different sports and, if interested, join the clubs straight away. The taster mornings will take place on 13 September, 25 October and 15 November. Anyone interested can register via the Sports Office.
Sports heroines project by IdéeSport
IdéeSport organised a «Sports Heroines» month in March 2025, during which female athletes in various sports were presented as part of the four OpenSundays and three MidnightSports in the city of Bern. These role models are intended to inspire and motivate girls to take part in sports, while also helping to break down stereotypical role models in sport. The project is complemented by a sticker booklet with portraits of female athletes, which is intended to encourage girls to pursue sporting activities with confidence.
More information: sportheldinnen.ch
Girls only Camp
During the 2025 summer holidays, there will be a multi-sport week for girls – the Girls Only Camp. From 7 to 11 July, girls from kindergarten age to grade 6 will have the opportunity to try out different sports.
All further information can be found on the Sports Office website.
Book and podcast project «Das Recht zu kicken»
To support the historical and cultural documentation of women's football, the City of Bern is sponsoring the book and podcast project «Das Recht zu kicken» (in English: The right to kick) by Marianne Meier and Monika Hofmann, which is dedicated to the development of women's football.
Awareness-raising measures to increase visibility
To raise awareness of UEFA Women's EURO 2025 at an early stage, the tournament was present at numerous events with large audiences. At Visana Sprint, the GP of Bern and the Bern Women's Run, sports enthusiasts were directly addressed. At the Tour de Berne: One Year to Go, the official countdown was started on the Bundesplatz – accompanied by football activities and media presence at the press point.
Cultural platforms also played an important role: a EURO trailer was shown at the Rendez-Vous Bundesplatz, a stand provided information about the tournament at the BEA Expo, and numerous children danced in Bern Ball Magic T-shirts at the Dancefestival.
These measures are helping to anchor UEFA Women's EURO 2025 in the public sphere and strengthen the social perception of women's football in the long term.
The Burgergemeinde Bern is making a generous contribution to support the multifaceted legacy projects of the Regional Football Association Bern/Jura (FVBJ), which is implementing them together with the Host City of Bern as part of the UEFA Women's EURO 2025.
The key players in the region are:
- The Bern/Jura Regional Football Association
- The Swiss Football Association
- The Sports Office of the City of Bern
- The Sports Office of the Canton of Bern
- The Host City Thun
More information on the projects can be found on the FVBJ website.