Welcome to the Women's Under-19 EURO!

Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA President

Welcome to the 2023 UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship finals!

The best seven teams from the qualifiers have joined hosts Belgium in the quest for European glory in what promises to be another landmark event for youth football. The revised qualifying format for the UEFA youth competitions ensured highly competitive matches while driving further participation and visibility for the women’s game. And now, it is up to Europe’s finest teams to show us what they have got.

It will be the first time the RBFA has staged a UEFA women’s final tournament, after successful deliveries of multiple men’s events, such as the 1995 Under-16 and 2007 Under-17 European Championships, not to forget UEFA EURO 2000, co-hosted with the Netherlands. And I am confident that another significant women’s football event will soon follow.

I thank the RBFA for their warm hospitality and excellent preparation, ensuring a perfect stage for another memorable competition.

So let the games begin. And may the best team win!

Pascale Van Damme, RBFA Chair

As president of the RBFA, I am extremely proud and delighted that Belgium will be the host country for the UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship this summer.

In recent years, girls’ and women’s football development in our country has been in full swing. This is of course thanks to the major role played by the Red Flames, but also to ‘The World At Our Feet’ strategy that successfully created numerous initiatives which encourage girls to play football. At the end of last year, we reached the milestone of 50,000 female footballers.

A tournament such as this European Championship, where the Red Flames of the future will give their best, will undoubtedly contribute to even more girls finding their way to football. On behalf of the RBFA and UEFA, I would also like to welcome everyone to this tournament for which we have found four excellent locations. In addition to our own academy site and the Stade Leburton, both in Tubize, the participants and their supporters will enjoy a more than warm welcome in La Louvière and in Leuven, which in recent years has become the home of our national women’s team. Leuven, where the final will be played on 30 July, is the ultimate goal for all eight participating countries.

I wish all teams a sporting and successful tournament.