Women in Football: The Challenging History of Women’s Football

The public lecture “Women in Football: The Challenging History of Women’s Football” takes the recent success of the women’s game as its starting point: with the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, we experienced a true “summer fairy tale” in July. However, the path leading to this achievement was long and marked by numerous obstacles — for many years, football was regarded as an exclusively male sport.

The lecture traces the development of women’s football in Switzerland and internationally. It highlights pioneering figures, key milestones and forms of resistance, and illustrates how closely the sport is connected with broader societal issues such as emancipation, integration and exclusion.

The lecture will be given by Prof. Dr Christina Späti, Professor of Contemporary History at UniDistance Suisse. Even as a child, she had to fight for the right to play football with the boys during school breaks. Today, she researches football as a reflection of political, social and cultural developments, linking it to her academic work on minorities, integration and emancipation.

The event is open to all — whether you are a football fan, interested in history, or simply curious about the background of a current success story. Participation is free of charge; registration is required.

Register