UEFA EURO 2024 climate fund invests €7m in German clubs and regional associations

The third and final wave of UEFA EURO 2024 climate fund allocations has resulted in 30 amateur clubs in Germany receiving a share of €698,000 to invest in sustainable infrastructure, helping them improve their operations relating to energy, water, waste and mobility.

In total, UEFA has distributed over €4.9m to 190 clubs across the tournament's host nation during three waves of funding. An additional €100,000 has been given to each of Germany's 21 regional associations, bringing the total value of the climate fund to just over €7m.

Over 5,000 applications

Grassroots clubs in the host nation have been able to request financial support for climate-protection projects since early 2024.

Across the three funding waves, 5,586 amateur clubs from all over Germany applied for a portion of funding.

In March, 2,307 projects were submitted, with 80 funded, followed by 2,019 submissions in May, resulting in another 81 funded projects. Clubs could apply to receive up to €250,000 for their projects, and were required to contribute 10% of the total costs, capped at a maximum of €5,000.

Through these investments in infrastructure sustainability, and taking into account their average lifecycles, it is estimated that roughly 60,000 tonnes of carbon emissions will be saved. This is the equivalent of the electricity use of over 11,000 homes for one year, or the emissions from over 14,000 gasoline-powered vehicles driven for one year.

A full report on the climate fund initiative will be made available after the conclusion of all the planned and funded proposals.

The vast majority of successful project applications revolve around carbon reduction via energy efficiency or a switch to renewable energy, with clubs able to apply for multiple projects.

Over 100 projects requested support for installing a photovoltaic solar-panel system, while 67 focused on integrating battery-storage systems and 35 concerned the installation of LED floodlights.

A benchmark for event sustainability

The climate fund was a central project in the UEFA EURO 2024 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy, published in July 2023. This strategy is focused on targeted measures and investments to contribute to the delivery of a successful tournament, in line with the vision of making EURO 2024 a benchmark for event sustainability in sports and a driving force for sustainable development in German and European societies.

The fund takes responsibility for the unavoidable emissions generated by the event. For each tonne of CO2e emissions produced, €25 has been donated to the climate fund. Based on pre-tournament projections, around €7m will thus be made available for climate-protection projects.

The supervisory committee of the fund included Martin Kallen (chief executive of UEFA Events SA), Juliane Seifert (state secretary of the German Ministry of the Interior and Community), Heike Ullrich (German Football Association general secretary), Michele Uva (UEFA social & environmental sustainability director), and Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu (business engagement lead, UN Climate Change – UNFCCC).