Women's football
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Women's football has enjoyed unprecedented growth in recent years, with more players, higher standards and bigger competitions than ever before. To continue that momentum, we launched Unstoppable, our new strategy that sets bold and ambitious targets that will enable us to take the game to another level by 2030.
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In late 2024, we launched Unstoppable, our new six-year strategy for driving the women’s game to ever greater heights. Our goals include making women’s football the most played team sport among women and girls in every European country and increasing the number of fully professional leagues.
Unstoppable, developed in collaboration with football stakeholders across Europe, sets out our strategic priorities to achieve a vibrant and sustainable future for the next generation of players, coaches, referees, volunteers and fans.
It builds on the strong foundations laid by Time For Action, UEFA's first-ever women's football strategy, which was launched in 2019 and achieved all of its ambitious targets. Unstoppable also aligns with UEFA's wider strategy, United for Success 2024-30, supporting UEFA's vision to produce a thriving game across Europe.
Our mission and goals
Our 2030 mission for women's football is to inspire passion, purpose and play across Europe.
UEFA and the European football community will focus on four long-term aspirational goals, each with its own specific targets:
- To make football the most played team sport for women and girls in every European country, through developing football pathways for players, coaches and referees alongside grassroots opportunities
- To make Europe the home of the world’s top players, with six fully professional leagues and 5,000 fully professional players across the continent
- To make football the most sustainable and investable women’s sport, with record-breaking UEFA competitions
- To ensure women’s football is celebrated for its unique values and community, where everyone believes that they can have a place
Our strategic priorities
We will work towards fulfilling our mission and our ambitious long-term goals by delivering on eight strategic priorities.
Increased access to competitions, high-performance systems, expertise and targeted investment are essential to creating more opportunities. We are committed to ensuring diverse and inclusive talent pathways for players, coaches and referees to prepare them for successful futures.
"Dedicated structures, pathways and support services – specific to female athletes and the women’s game – are vital for all levels of the game to improve. That goes beyond the players to coaches and officials as well."
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To make football the favourite sport for women and girls all over Europe, we will work alongside football stakeholders to ensure access and opportunities in more communities through programmes that promote both growth and retention.
"Football has given me friends and more confidence. I can’t imagine my life without playing football."
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The voice and well-being of all players will remain central to our activities. We will continue to consult, provide education for, and involve players as together we strive to raise standards and promote the unique identity of the women’s game. We will provide initiatives for players to succeed – at the start of, during, at the end of, and after their playing careers.
"We must be at the heart of the conversation. We care about the game, how it develops and grows. Seriously prioritising the welfare and needs of players will lead to a better and safer game."
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We are committed to strengthening collaboration, unity, solidarity and advocacy. In doing so, we will secure the game’s fundamentals by setting standards and increasing resources, capacities and cooperation.
"Women’s football is distinctive – by its very nature it is collaborative. To ensure this continues, we will work together across all NAs and stakeholders to grow the game in a sustainable manner for everyone."
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European domestic leagues and their clubs must be prioritised and invested in. We will work towards a more professional, competitive and sustainable European club football ecosystem that is home to the world’s top players and a growing fanbase.
"We need to create world-class thriving competitions that are competitive, commercially attractive and sustainable, so clubs build bigger fanbases that get to see entertaining matches."
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European club competitions, with the UEFA Women’s Champions League as the pinnacle, will be the most competitive and best-supported, inspiring the stars of tomorrow. Marked by its open-competition system, promotion and relegation, pyramid structure and principles of solidarity, European club football will remain the stimulus for growth and development.
"The UEFA Women’s Champions League is the epitome of football competitions. It is the locomotive that European football needs to create a sustainable and profitable environment around women’s football, domestically, and globally."
National team football and the UEFA Women’s EURO continue to drive higher standards, ambitions and visibility globally. The sporting appeal and opportunities provided across age categories and competitions ensure the biggest stage to shine a light on Europe’s stars.
"National team football is more competitive and popular than ever. We need to use this momentum to keep growing and developing the women’s game together – and make sure we continue to inspire girls and women at all levels, appeal to mass audiences and improve facilities and working conditions. This also means we must always put players and their welfare at the heart."
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We will lead the promotion of our women’s competitions, teams and players, and work with partners to deliver a unique experience to fans. We will also seek innovative commercial opportunities that ensure continued progress towards revenue optimisation and limitless exposure.
"The relationship between players and fans in the women’s game is unique, and we want it to stay that way. At the same time, we’re excited by the game’s growth and increased appeal, and we hope this will continue."
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