Euro 2025
In Bienne, a center forms the future stars of Swiss football
In Bienne, in the heart of the Tissot Arena, girls aged 12 to 15 train all week in order to join the elite of Swiss football. Report in the ASF training center.
At the National Center of Biel, 21 young talents train hoping to live their sport one day.
ASF
- In Bienne, the next generation of Swiss football trains daily with professional coaches at the Tissot Arena.
- ASF fully finances technical training, only accommodation remains the responsibility of families.
- The majority of residents should reach the Swiss first division after his training.
Through the bus window which leads to the training center of the Swiss Football Association, we can see imposing posters adorning the main hall of Swiss Tennis. Marc Rosset’s gold medal in Barcelona, that of Federer and Wawrinka in Beijing, Belinda Bencic in Tokyo, without forgetting Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky, silver in Rio. The name of the surveyed road? “Allée Roger-Federer”.
At the end of the street, the modern Tissot Arena, Antre du FC Bienne and theater of the recent feat of the first league club in the semi-finals of the Swiss Cup against YB. Here in Bienne, everything breathes sport.
Four training sessions per week at the foot of the Tissot Arena
If in the bar of the sports center the decorations more recall the hockeyers of the HC Biel, barely the rear doors of the pushed center and after a few spiral staircases, other posters.
Football, this time. Ramona Bachmann, Coumba SowLia Wälti. They are there, supervised on the walls, to inspire those which, all week long, train hard to join their “in the big” idols who raised the crowds during theEuro 2025.
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Because here, in Bienne, headquarters of the ASF training center, young girls from 12 to 15 years old – 9e at 11e Harmos – Train from Monday to Friday during the school year. “All week long, we live in a foster family, here in Biel. We go to school in the morning, we eat here at noon, before going to train. We eat again here in the evening, before entering our host families. On Friday, after lessons, we go home, to see our families. On weekends, we play in our respective clubs, ”explains Elynn Raymond, 15 and player of the Bas-Valais team.
In addition to executives with the photos of players of team A, a “Wall of Fame” decorates the room where young players do their homework in the Tissot Arena.
DR
A lifestyle that may seem intense for adolescent girls. “At the beginning, it was hard to be far from my family and friends during the week, but I got used to it fairly quickly,” says Kenissa Blaser, 15.
In the corridors of the Tissot Arena, these young players live as close as possible to the conditions of the professionals. In the locker room, the 26 aligned lockers contain all the essentials – from the shower gel to tap dancing, including the two pairs of crampons for certain players.
During training, seriousness reigns. Ball storage, clear communication, (very) few technical errors, surrounded by a careful staff. Without forgetting the possibility of going through the care box, with physios available to the players.
A lack of infrastructure for women’s football
Born in Huttwil in the early 2000s, this training center moved to Bienne in 2017. According to the director of the center, David Meister, the city of Seelandes sounded obvious.
“It is a more central and bilingual city, which is very important. In addition, being close to Macolin is a real asset since we work a lot with the National Sports Center. Here, young girls learn the technique of the game, but also the lifestyle of pros: nutrition, attitude and recovery. ”
To help these budding footballers, four coaches – two men and two women – all professionals take turns during the week. All costs are paid for by the Swiss Football Association, helped by European UEFA funding, which supports the project. The players should only pay the stay with the host families.
“With Servette who invests a lot and Lausanne who has great projects, female football in Romandie will develop,” predicts David Meister, head of the National Center.
ASF
Moreover, the center is exclusively reserved for young girls, since its opening in 2004. “This choice is explained by the fact that in general, in their club, the girls do not have the opportunity to benefit from solid infrastructure, unlike boys”, explains David Meister.
And, in general, male clubs all have their own training center. Each year, around ten new teenagers are selected. “They represent the best hopes for Swiss women’s football,” said the manager.
In Bienne, the Romandes are made a place
In total, the volley is made up of six French -speaking players and fifteen German Swiss. A trend that should soon change, according to the director of the center. “Women’s football has a greater history in German Switzerland. But with Servette who invests a lot and Lausanne who has great projects, female football in Romandie will develop, “predicts David Meister.
This ASF training center is therefore a means for young Swiss players to develop, aspiring a professional career. “The majority of players will play in the Swiss first division,” hopes Dominik Erb, communications manager for women’s football at the ASF. This center is even the only way to achieve it, according to David Meister.
But the clubs do not necessarily hear it from this ear and sometimes relieve the idea of letting their jewels go. “Sometimes clubs have the impression of having the same infrastructure, so they do not understand why girls should train elsewhere during the week,” says the center manager.
However, he claims that the relationships between clubs and ASF are good and even constitute a primordial element. And to remember that they have a common project: helping young players to become professional.
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