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How you can watch the Women’s World Cup final in Switzerland

As England and Spain prepare to face off in the final act of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, here's how you can watch the game in Switzerland.

Published: 28 July 2023 16:07 CEST
Updated: 20 August 2023 08:37 CEST

This is how to watch the 2023 Women's World Cup final if you are in Switzerland, Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP

Spain play England in the final of the 2023 Women’s World Cup at 12pm Italian time on Sunday, August 20th.

It’s a highly anticipated match as it’s the first time that either national side has reached the final stage of the Women’s World Cup.

This comes after England’s Lionesses beat Australia 3-1 in Wednesday’s semi-final, and La Roja inched past Sweden 2-1 in extra time in the other semi-final on Tuesday.

The last time the two teams met in an official competition, England beat Spain 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Euros.

For those who want to watch the match in Switzerland it is available on German-language Swiss television channel SRF zwei, while the match is being live-streamed online on SRG SSR.

Alternatively, you can download the SRF Sport app to watch matches on the go.

What about bars?

You may just come across the odd local sports bar, such as the Sportsbar 1904 (Fifa Museum) in Zurich, that has been regularly broadcasting the games.

Other Zurich bars you can visit with like-minded enthusiasts are the Amboss Rampe, Das Gleis, Calvados Bar and the Kennedy’s Pub.

If you happen to be in Zurich for the finale on Sunday, then you can catch that at the Röschibachplatz in Wipkingen. There’s just one catch: you’ll have to bring your own chair.

Likewise, you can drop by some of Switzerland’s best Irish pubs in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, and of course Zurich, and simply ask for a game to be shown, if it isn’t already. Most of the time staff will try and accommodate a request early in the day.

We’re pretty sure they will show the final, though. But double check before you rock up there.

Which matches are left?

On Saturday the third-place playoff match takes place between Sweden and Australia. Coverage starts at 10am (Swiss time).

The final between Spain and England starts at 12noon on Sunday.

May the best team win!

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Why are so many international sporting organisations based in Switzerland?

Swiss media reports that FIFA laid the groundwork for a potential exit from the city via a vote held Friday, May 17th, during the body’s congress in Bangkok, that changed its governing statutes.

Despite this move, FIFA has announced it’s ‘happy’ to remain in Zurich.

Even after a potential departure, Switzerland would still claim to be the world’s centre for sports.

In all over 70 organisations overseeing international sports have headquarters in the country.

Of course, the most famous is the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which was founded in Lausanne by Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, in 1915.

READ MORE: What is the secret to Switzerland’s Olympic success?

In the century that followed, several other organisations related to the Olympics and the governing bodies of several popular sports have also based themselves in the lakeside city.

The World Archery Federation, the International Boxing Association, European Gymnastics, World Triathlon, and several other bodies are based in Lausanne, which is close to the IOC.

Lausanne is also home to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which seeks to mediate sporting disputes. At the same time, the World Anti-Doping Agency was headquartered there until 2002.

Outside of Lausanne, the International Ice Hockey Federation is headquartered in Zurich. Basketball’s peak body, FIBA, is based in Basel, as is Europe’s football governing body, UEFA.

An attractive base

Switzerland is the logical base for world sporting associations for the same reasons international diplomatic and scientific bodies such as the United Nations, the International Red Cross, and the World Health Organisation call the country home.

First and foremost, Switzerland is the world’s oldest completely neutral country, recognised as such by the international community in 1815. It is not allied with any other significant power. It has stayed out of all the major world conflicts of the twentieth century.

Switzerland also enjoys an attractive location at Europe’s ‘crossroads’, centrally located and with land borders adjoining several European powers.

With four official languages, operating an international body within the country is more accessible, thanks to existing linguistic resources.

In the end, however, money talks.

The canton of Vaud, where Lausanne is located, does not tax international sporting organisations. Swiss law ostensibly treats them in much the same way as amateur sporting clubs.

There are no requirements to publish financial records, and there are very few other statutes to which they must adhere in their day-to-day operations.

Of course, this has raised the spectre of corruption – in just the last few years, the International Fencing Federation, the swimming governing body FINA and the IOC have been scrutinised over alleged bribes, kickbacks and links to Russian oligarchs.

Most notably, FIFA itself was the centre of a corruption scandal in involving its former head, Sepp Blatter, in 2015,

While the Swiss government has yet to respond with legal changes to help preserve its image, some organisations are already working to prevent scrutiny.

Most notably, the IOC and related bodies began publishing their financial accounts in 2015, while FIFA introduced a new ‘Code of Ethics’ last year.

Several individuals also thought to be linked to bribes have also been disqualified from serving with their assoicated organisations.

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