“This is more than a tournament; it is a movement, and the response from the whole of Europe and the reaction beyond that the female football is not only to live here – it is setting the new standard.”
She was the word of former German International Nadin Casler, who is now a UEFA female football director during the Euro 2025.
Most of this appears to be undisputed: UEFA says they sell tickets even before the group’s phase, even in Ivan’s entire Euro 2022, social media busyness is 55% sion and the award pot has increased by 156 million ($ 47.5 million).
However, although Poland created its euro bow this year, the movement has not reached the east and rest of the parts of southern Europe. Despite winning his final group game against Denmark, Poland got out on the group stage, as ever defined by Eastern Europe (United Nations) – has qualified for his ban from Ukraine and Russia five times in 1997 and international football in 2022.
This is opposite to men’s football, where in 2024, 11 of the 24 teams in the last men’s Euro in Germany, from the region, Alpine was with great success. Croatia (again, defined as Eastern Europe by the United Nations) was one of those teams and four years later, the 2018 World Cup and the semi -finalists were losing the finalists in Qatar. On the other hand, their women have not yet come close to qualifying for the World Cup or Euro.
The serial Croatian woman champion, former coach of Znk Osijek, now Sports Director, Gorn Ljubojevic told DW that the area was always catching, clubs started adding women’s programs in only the 90s, and the investment in women’s game was rare. But they believe that social norms are holding the game back.
‘A man’s game’
“The cultural problem in our country is that people feel that girls should not play football that they should mostly stay at home and be housewives or something,” they told DW. European Union’s gender equality indexPublished in 2024, it tolerates it to some extent, with no eastern countries above the average of the European Union.
“I don’t know that it will ever happen that we will see a change in the male brain in Croatia and this part of Europe will ever accept women’s football at that level as they do in Western Europe and USA.”
But Ljubojevic, which played for NK Osijek (is the female section of NK Osiek Club), and Dinamo Zagreb said, wide interest in tournaments such as sold-out stadiums and euros is making widespread impact in the south of its motherland and continent.
“People watched the game in the European Championship, they saw the World Cup in Australia [and New Zealand in 2023]He looked at full stadiums and ‘Wow was like’, I did not know the real people’s football, so at least some but even with it, I think the infrastructure is silent, not good for women’s football here. ,
Despite being the most successful aspect in the country, Znk Osijek draws only 300 crowds for its domestic matches. As ljubojevic sees it, talent is there, it is only required to invest in coaching, infrastructure and players are paid adequate to be full -time professional.
Rising budget
The UEFA has made new plans to make it to the region in recent years, and according to Professor Deriusz Woztaszin from Vroclav University in Poland, the effect of thesis is beginning.
“There have been many positive growth in recent years. They drive from the initiative of UEFA and local football associations, which – slowly – are beginning to recognize the ability of women’s football,” educational, which was written on a large scale on Eastern European women’s football, told the D.W.
“Women’s football budget has increased significantly in all CEEs (usually more than 100%) [Central and Eastern European] Country. This is why I see the UEFA initiative very positively. They bring tangible results. ,
In a written statement, the UEFA told DW that his reform competitions including Champions League and Europe League have “ensured that all competitions and all the final tournaments are open and accessible to clubs and teams of all associations. In this period we have worked with improvement in both levels of club, national national team.
History and politics
But Wojtaszyn thinks that the politics of this region is catching it back. Although the communist systems that controlled many of these countries, were reported to be gender-e-respect in the 1990s, they actually “produced ancestral model of family and traditional social relations, limiting the possibilities for women’s liberation,” according to Wasteszin. The collapse of communism still carried forward the issues.
“The collapse of the state sponsorship system in the previous decades led to important economic problems for football clubs. Under the discovery situation, women football, which was a general low interest, found her male contestants to compete with sponsors in free market.
Recently, he said, “The rise of right -wing parties in countries such as Romania, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary – and the revival of” traditional “values that came with him – has created professional football for many people in an unnecessary protective.
Although their players still need to complete other jobs, Ljubojevic is highly expected for the future, even if they seem significant investment and require education.
See to see it
“We have a huge talent pool, which is also in men’s football, but no one has been trained properly,” Heer said. “It will be much better in a few years. I will tell you that we have great talents, we have great players, and we [ZNK Osijek] Now are actually working at the highest level. ,
Poland is expecting an increase in participation from its euro campaign, the national team head coach Nina Petalon has predicted an increase of 30,000 to 300,000 women players in the tournament after the country.
Ljubojevic thinks that Croatia, and perhaps other countries in the region need something similar to kick a football scene of their women.
Although Poland lost 2025 hosting and no eastern European countries bid for 2029, he would like to see Croatia becoming the first country in its territory to host the tournament.
“Yes, we can do it. But we have to take it seriously. Federation, country and everything – they have to invest money and time. Women’s football is a new wave and we have.
Edited by: Chak Penfol
