Swiss Women's Game Makes Huge Strides

Officials hope hosts can double number of female players to 80,000 by 2027

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SION - On a restaurant terrace in the Swiss city of Sion, a group of women's football pioneers gather — veterans who have watched the beautiful game transform beyond recognition in Switzerland.

For 72-year-old Madeleine Boll, it is a proud moment to see the city in French-speaking Switzerland hosting three games in the Women's European Championship that is being staged across the country.

The tournament mascot – a St Bernard puppy called Maddli – takes its name from her, honouring her role in advancing women's football in Switzerland.

At 12 years old in 1965, Boll broke new ground by becoming the first woman in Switzerland to obtain a football licence, which allowed her to play for FC Sion's boys' youth team.

But just months later it was taken away from her after the club said it had made an error.

"I was the happiest little girl. But the day they took away my licence, I was the unhappiest because I didn't understand why I was forbidden to play," Boll told Reuters.

However, it marked the first in a series of landmark moments that enabled women's inclusion in Swiss football.