A History Of The Womens EURO Competition

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Published by Chris Jenkins
05th Apr 2022
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On the 6th of July, England will host Austria on the first matchday of the Women's EURO 2022 competition. This fixture will be held at the iconic Old Trafford Stadium - home to Manchester United. Should this be your first time experiencing a Women's EURO competition and are wondering how the prior tournaments finished, below we will provide a history of the women's EURO competition. But first:

 

A History of the Womens EURO Competition:

The first official tournament of the Women's EURO competition was held in 1984. Originally, there were only 4 teams that competed in the playoff rounds. However, it still comprised four qualifying groups that saw the winner of each group progress to the semi-finals took place across two legs, this was to determine who would finish in fourth and third place whilst also seeing the winners progress to the final.

The final of the UEFA EURO Women’s game also took place across two legs. The inaugural tournament in 1984 was the first and only time to see the winner of the final be determined across two legs. Below you will find a comprehensive breakdown of each of the Women's EUROS fixtures before this year’s event.

 

The 1984 Womens EURO Competition:

As stated earlier, the inaugural competition saw 16 teams compete across 4 qualifying groups. The winner of each group would progress through to the semi-finals to determine who could go on and win the first-ever Womens EURO tournament.

The four teams who progressed were; England, Denmark, Italy and Sweden. Across the two legs, England Womens defeated Demark 3-1 to secure a place in the final. Whereas Sweden had a tougher time trying to progress. They were ultimately successful by defeating Italy 5-3 across the two legs.

For neutrals, the two legs during the final produced a truly exciting set of games. Which, Sweden defeated England 1-0 in the first leg after a goal in the 57th minute. With everything up for grabs and England on the back foot, England was able to win the second leg 1-0 with a 31st-minute goal - resulting in the away goal being voided.

This ultimately led to the two teams taking part in a penalty shootout. Which, Sweden was successful in defeating England 4-3. Resulting in Sweden winning the first-ever Women's EURO competition.

 

The 1987 Womens EURO Competition:

The 1987 Women's EURO competition was hosted in Norway, once again, the competition began with four qualifying groups. This time, however, the host nation was selected to progress to the semi-final stage after the other teams were determined.

This time, the competition did not see the semi-finals and final game be result across two legs - rather a more domestic competition approach in that it would be a one-off elimination game.

The team to win the second competition was Norway, which was the host of the competition. They won after defeating the previous winners 2-1. The final also saw 8,408 attendees spectate the game.

 

The 1989 Womens EURO Competiton:

The 1989 Women's EURO Competition saw the same layout as the previous competition that took place in Norway. This time, however, the competition was to take place in West Germany.

The final of the third Womens EURO competition saw the hosts West Germany defeat the previous winners, Norway in a dominating 4-1 triumph. 22,000 fans were watching as the hosts were able to lift the EURO competition for the first time.

 

The 1991 Womens EURO Competiton:

The 1991 Women's EURO Competiton saw eighteen teams entering qualification. This was enough to see the 1991 competition as the first official tournament for the Women's EURO.

This competition took place in Denmark and saw an exact repeat of the previous tournament’s final. Germany was successful in defeating Norway 3-1. However, this was less dominating than their prior final as this game saw Germany score two goals in extra time.

 

The 1993 Womens EURO Competition:

The 1993 Women's EURO competition saw 23 teams be divided into 8 groups. Out of the teams who progressed to the semi-finals Norway defeated Denmark with a goal in the second half to see them reach the final for the third time.

The two-time winners, Germany fell short to the hosts of the competition, Italy. Italy was able to defeat Germany in a penalty shootout which finished 4-3. Making it the third tournament in five that the hosts had won the competition.

 

The 1995 Womens EURO Competition:

The 1995 Womens EURO competition took place in various locations, with which the final game taking place in Germany. This tournament also saw the reintroduction to the semi-finals taking place across two legs.

The final saw an exhilarating fixture that ended with Sweden falling short to Germany in a 3-2 back and forth. This also resulted in the third time that Germany had won the competition.

 

The 1997 Womens EURO Competiton:

The 1997 Women's EURO competition took place in Norway and Sweden. The semi-finals had once again moved to a one-off elimination fixture, in which, Germany eliminated one of the hosts, Sweden in a 1-0 win. Whereas Italy was successful in beating Spain 2-1.

The final saw Germany successfully obtain their fourth title by beating Italy 2-0. This was Germany's winning back-to-back titles since the 1989-1991 tournaments.

 

The 2001 Womens EURO Competition:

The 2001 Women's EURO Competition saw the four-time winners, Germany host the competition for the second time. The final saw the hosts face off against Sweden for the second time. Which, Germany was once again successful as they beat Sweden 1-0 in extra time.

Resulting in Germany winning the Women's EURO five times as they had won three successive competitions.

 

The 2005 Womens EURO Competition:

The 9th Womens EURO Competition took place in England and it was also the final tournament that saw 8 teams compete across two groups. Despite the hosts not making it through to the semi-finals, fans, however, did manage to witness history.

Fans saw Germany win their fifth EURO competition by defeating Norway 3-1. This also means that this marked Germany’s fourth successive title win.

 

The 2009 Womens EURO Competition:

The 10th Womens EURO Competition took place in Finland which saw Germany win their fifth successive title after defeating England 6-2 in dominating fashion.

 

The 2013 Womens EURO Competition:

The 2013 Women's EURO competition was the 11th tournament, this also become the most-watched Women's tournament in history. The tournament ended with Germany lifting their sixth successive EURO trophy as they defeated Norway 1-0.

 

The 2017 Womens EURO Competition:

The twelfth edition of the Women's EURO competition was hosted in the Netherlands and saw the hosts lift their first trophy. The final saw the Netherlands defeat Denmark in a hard-fought 4-2 fixture.

 

The 2022 Womens EURO Competition:

Now that the 13th Womens EURO competition is set to be underway in July. This marks the second time that England is the host of this competition. This tournament will take place across 10 stadiums from around the UK with Wembley Stadium hosting the final.

Can England win their first Womens EURO title or could Germany earn their ninth title? Only time will tell, however, to secure your seats - be sure to browse the various tickets we have available.