Top footballer rues lack of prospects for women in Switzerland

The European Women’s Football Championship 2025 kicks off in Switzerland in one month. Luana Bühler is a defender in the Swiss national team, but she plays for an English club because the basis for a professional career doesn’t exist in Switzerland. She talks about opportunities, hurdles and her hopes for change. Luana Bühler, 29, is an exception in Swiss women’s football: she can make a living from the game. Bühler has been living in London for two years, where she plays for Tottenham Hotspur. She previously played professional football in Germany for five years. Bühler’s father was a football manager. Her five siblings, two sisters and three brothers, played football all the time at home in Altishofen, Lucerne. When her siblings, especially her older sister, started playing in a club, Luana also wanted to join. “There weren’t any ‘girls’ teams’ back then, but that never bothered me,” she says. “I just wanted to play football.” According to the Swiss Football Association, 338,991 ...