The Swiss Football Association (ASF) is hosting a Women’s U19 Euro qualification tournament in Bienne and Vevey. The competition will determine which teams advance to the next stage of the prestigious European championship.
Founded on April 7, 1895, the ASF serves as the governing body for football in Switzerland and was a founding member of FIFA in 1904. The association also joined UEFA in 1954, further solidifying its role in European football.
Based in Bern, the ASF oversees the Swiss Football League and the Switzerland national football team. The organization is known by several names in Switzerland’s national languages: Schweizerischer Fussballverband (German), Association Suisse de Football (French), Associazione Svizzera di Football/Calcio (Italian) and Associaziun Svizra da Ballape (Romansh). The association’s abbreviation is ASF-SFV in three of the national languages, with ASB used in Romansh.
Football’s introduction to Switzerland dates back to the 1860s, brought by Anglo-Saxon students and teachers to schools in the French-speaking regions of Lausanne and Geneva. Early teams played a combination of rugby and football, with documented matches held at the Château de Lancy and La Châtelaine institutes. The Lausanne Football and Cricket Club, established in 1860, is considered the first football club in Continental Europe, predating many others by several years.
FIFA is headquartered in Zurich, and UEFA maintains its base in the Swiss city of Nyon, highlighting Switzerland’s central position in the world of football. The upcoming U19 tournament underscores the ASF’s commitment to developing the next generation of Swiss football talent.
