Ireland v Sweden: Looking back on the first UEFA competition for women 40 years ago

Analysis: When Ireland's WNT meet Sweden tonight, they are meeting the first ever champions of the European competition in 1984

By Helena Byrne, British Library

Today the Republic of Ireland WNT take on Sweden at the Aviva Stadium in their third match in Group A3 in the UEFA EURO 2025 Qualifier. This year's tournament is the fourteenth edition of the competition, which was launched in 1982. The Republic of Ireland has participated in the qualification rounds for thirteen of these tournaments but have yet to qualify for the finals. Meanwhile, tonight's opponents, Sweden's 'Damlandslaget' (women's national team) won the inaugural title 40 years ago in 1984 and have competed in eleven finals. This article looks back at the origins of the first official European competition.

Women's football has a long history and since UEFA mandated its members to recognise women’s football in 1971, many European countries have set up international teams. However, only competitions organised by UEFA or FIFA are regarded as being official matches. This means that the many previous European and World cups, including the 1970 and 1971 Women's World Cup, organised independently by the Fédération Internationale Européenne de Football Féminine (FIEFF), are still considered unofficial.

It was the popularity of these tournaments from 1969 to 1971 that put pressure on UEFA to take notice of women’s football. A report presented at the November 1970 Executive Committee meeting in Paris stated that 'It was decided to recommend the Associations to keep a watchful eye on the further development of ladies’ football in their country in order to avoid that wily business managers get a hold of it’. A UEFA Committee for women’s football was established the