Record prize money

European Championship draw: Germans against Austria conquerors

Sami Khedira(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Record European champions Germany will face Austria's play-off conquerors Poland, Denmark and Sweden in the group stage of the European Women's Football Championship. 

The opening match on July 2 in Basel will be played by the host team from Switzerland against Norway. World champions Spain will face Portugal and Italy, among others, while co-favorites France will play reigning European champions England. This was the result of the draw for the tournament on Monday in Lausanne.

The 16 participants will play in eight stadiums, with kick-offs at 18:00 or 21:00. Basel's St. Jakob-Park is the largest arena with a capacity of 34,050 spectators and will also host the final match on July 27. The semi-finals will be played in Zurich and Geneva. UEFA and the Swiss organizers are aiming for a sold-out tournament and a record number of spectators: At the 2022 European Championship in England, there were 574,875 spectators.

156 percent increase in prize money
UEFA also announced that 41 million euros in prize money will be paid out for the final tournament. This is an increase of 156% compared to the €16 million from 2022 - but still a far cry from the €331 million that was paid out at the European Men's Championship in Germany last summer. The European women's champions can collect a maximum of 5.1 million euros.

For the first time, part of this prize money will also go to the players, between 30 and 40 percent depending on the participating association. Clubs that release players for the tournament will receive compensation of 6 million euros.