England: Lionesses vow to help families with eye-watering costs at Euro 2025 | OneFootball

Sarina Wiegman’s side take on France in their Euro 2025 opener

Several Lionesses have revealed that they will be paying for their families to support them at this summer’s European Championships.

England travel to Switzerland as the defending champions after their sensational home triumph in 2022, but questions have been raised about the affordability of the most recent major tournaments.

The 2023 World Cup, where England were defeated in the final by Spain, was hosted in Australia and New Zealand, with many matches kicking off at almost unwatchable times for viewers in the UK because of the time difference, and players’ families and fans struggled to get out to Australasia as a result of the eye-watering travel costs.

Switzerland ranks as one of the most expensive countries in the world, and there have been concerns once more as to whether prices for tickets, hotels, and flights will be wildly expensive as a result.

England midfielder Georgia Stanway said that she would be financing her family’s travel and stay in Switzerland.

“I think it’s all subjective,” Stanway said. “My families can [support me], but I’m also aware that Switzerland is a very expensive country. Even just for flights, hotels, the cost-of-living there is extremely high so we understand the demand it is on fans.

“That’s difficult for us as well because we want to help and support as much as possible, even with our own families.

“A lot of us are putting our hands in our pockets to make sure that our families can get over there.

“We would love to see as many fans as possible and we want to thank them in advance because we know it’s not cheap.”

Stanway’s compatriot Ella Toone concurred, acknowledging that it would be “difficult” for players’ families to stay the whole duration of the tournament.

“I’ve heard it’s quite expensive,” the attacking midfielder said.

“It’s one of the most expensive countries in the world, that's what I heard.

Lotte Wubben-Moy, the Arsenal defender, highlighted the importance of the England supporters to fuel the Lionesses’ in their pursuit of another major trophy.

“It speaks a lot to the fans that we have in general here in England,” Wubben-Moy said.

“A lot of people are willing to go above and beyond to be able to watch us and that’s quite inspiring for us. It creates an energy that we not only felt during the Euros but we still felt it in Australia regardless of the time difference.

“It’s something that we see as our cliché of our 12th woman out there. I think us as a country, historically but also for the next few years, we’ll lean on our fans as much as we can.”

England take on Jamaica in their final preparation game ahead of Euro 2025, playing at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium on Sunday, June 29.

They kick off their title defence in Switzerland against France on Saturday, July 5, before games against the Netherlands and Wales to complete the group phase.