At 3.45pm today, Coumba Sow, representing the Swiss national team, signed the ball at the Käppelijoch and gave it a personal message to accompany her team through the tournament. This was special for the host city of Basel: ‘On the one hand, it was a beginning, and on the other, a full circle moment,’ says Sabine Horvath, overall project manager of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in Basel. ‘Coumba has been working as an ambassador for the host city since the beginning of this year.’ In this role, she has been showing her face for months: at events, in online and print media, on posters in public spaces and on social media. Together with two other ambassadors, she was part of a broad-based campaign that gave the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 early visibility in the cityscape and in the minds of the population.

But that's not all: Lise Klaveness, who represents the Norwegian selection, also signed the ball at the Käppelijoch and decorated it with a greeting. ‘With Lise Klaveness' “Let the game begin for friendship” and Coumba Sow's “let's rock it”, the messages on the balls get right to the heart of what football is really about,’ says Klaus Littmann. ‘Bridge Kick is not just art – it should be the starting signal for friendship, respect and plenty of team spirit.’ Host City Basel hopes that the other teams entering St. Jakob-Park during the tournament will follow suit and create a lasting memory on the Mittlere Brücke. In this way, the art intervention could become a symbol of community and solidarity.