The UEFA Grassroots Conference: Creating opportunities for every player at every level
Friday, April 11, 2025
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UEFA equips Europe's amateur football leaders with innovative player development techniques and programmes that ensure the game is open and accessible to all.
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The eyes of the sporting world may have been fixed upon the elite-level action in the UEFA Champions League this week, but in a corner of Poland's beautiful Baltic Coast, European football was united in focus on the sport's very foundations.
Every three years, we organise the UEFA Grassroots Conference, a celebration of the amateur football that represents how 99% of us enjoy and participate in the beautiful game.
The 2025 edition was hosted by the Polish Football Association (PZPN) in Sopot, just outside Gdansk, and offered development and participation experts from Europe's 55 national associations, as well as FIFA and our sister confederations AFC, Concacaf and CONMEBOL, a unique opportunity to collaborate and innovate, driving the game forward for the many millions of players and coaches across the continent.
"This conference is more than just a place to exchange ideas – it’s about a vision that puts players first. The love for the game is born at this early stage and we want as many kids as possible to experience the joy of playing the best game in the world, so the goal is clear: to recruit, teach and keep as many players as possible close to the game."
Putting the player first
At the heart of this year’s conference was a renewed focus on the journey of grassroots players – recognising the diverse experiences, needs and ambitions of those who play the game at every level and age.
Whether it’s a young girl taking her first steps into football, a coach helping players grow, or an older adult staying active through the game. our mission is to ensure that everybody, everywhere can enjoy football in a safe, fun and positive environment.
"It was a great pleasure to host the UEFA Grassroots Conference and nearly 200 delegates who like us are passionate about grassroots football and its transformative power.
"In Poland, we are proud of our grassroots journey and committed to building strong development pathways for everyone. We want to make football a space of learning, joy and unity, and are inspired by the work being done across the national associations. We all learn from each other and this conference has been a celebration of community, passion and a belief that football belongs to everyone."
Below, we take a closer look at the key themes from this year's conference, and how they are empowering participants to enhance the game.
Supporting players' confidence, motivation and emotional well-being is one the crucial roles of a coach, whether overseeing the action on the sidelines of a UEFA EURO or a school training session.
One of the conference's important messages was the need for leaders to prioritise their players' needs, creating a sense of belonging and safety that can transform the person as much as the player.
"Every single human, regardless of the level of sport you compete at, or in business or in music or in art, needs to feel appreciated, listened to, cared for and needed," explained leading sports performance psychologist, Dr Tom Bates. "The strategies and techniques to be able to fill those needs are the art of coaching."
Coaches from across Europe worked together to learn how to reflect on their own motivations and methods, and consider how their leadership feels to their players. By listening and learning to see the world through the eyes of people in their care, they can better understand how to help their players reach their true potential.
"The participants are so receptive, and their contribution and collaboration is a theme running through this conference," said Dr Bates. "This is what it means to be a team – regardless of whatever country that they come from, what language they speak, what age they are, there's an immediate desire to want to help each other and learn together."
Great new ideas often emerge from the bottom up, rather than the top. That's why UEFA's Innovation Hub equips our national associations with free tools and case studies to help them develop exciting new projects that can impact the game – whether it's attracting more players, analysing data or helping coaches to organise their training plans.
In Sopot, we introduced participants to world-class facilitators, helping them explore their needs and how they can work together to achieve the progress they are looking for.
"Football is the biggest sport in the world and I always like to work with things that are influential on people," said innovation scientist Larry Keeley. "The people who had practice using our tools had some very good ideas and outcomes, and if they want to innovate then UEFA is here to help them do that. Curiosity, confidence and courage are the difference between people who think innovation is a good idea and those who do it. It's a delightful challenge, and when you succeed, it's a great joy."
The UEFA Playmakers programme, which uses the magic of Disney storytelling to introduce girls aged 5-8 to football, has now been adopted in 46 of UEFA's 55 national associations.
Since its launch in 2020, more than 135,000 girls have now taken part in Playmakers, with 96% reporting a positive experience and 64% continuing to play the game in some form.
In Poland, participants joined Sweden legend and Playmakers ambassador Lotta Schelin to discuss how to increase and improve opportunities for girls to play club football once completing the course.
"It's really fun to be involved and everyone was so interested and wanted to share their own success stories and understand more about each other's, talking about getting more girls interested in football," Schelin said.
"Playmakers is an amazing tool and a great environment to get girls together. It's great for girls to be involved in sports and it offers you so much more than just the game – it helps them build self-esteem, feel a part of a team and support their friends. Throughout my career, I felt so empowered being alongside my teammates with the same goals and pushing each other on."
For the first time, all 55 national associations now have a disability football action plan – a commitment to offering access to the game for the 100 million people across Europe living with some sort of disability.
In Sopot, grassroots coaches learned important methods to help put these plans into action, including how to adapt practices to support players' individual needs.
The other focus was on developing a network of local clubs, ensuring players have a local club they can be a part of, with associations encouraged to collaborate on best practices and success stories.
The event marked a major milestone in the development of the game across Europe by celebrating all 55 member associations meeting the minimum standards of the UEFA Grassroots Charter.
The Charter is an agreement between UEFA and its member associations that sets out a clear framework for grassroots football development across the continent. It outlines the minimum requirements national associations must meet to access the total €55 million in UEFA HatTrick funding for the grassroots game between 2024 and 2028.
More than simply a funding initiative, the Charter represents a shared vision for football that is accessible, safe, and inclusive, guiding associations in building strong foundations that give everyone, regardless of age, ability, or background, the opportunity to play and enjoy the game.
"Grassroots football is the foundation of the game. The Grassroots Charter is how we ensure that every association is working to common standards while respecting national differences. It’s about giving more people more chances to play, in a way that is flexible and gives them the best chance for development."
Documentary premiere: The Game That Made Us
The conference also represented the perfect time to share UEFA's new grassroots football documentary, The Game That Made Us – a powerful film which that dives into the heart of the beautiful game — not just as a sport, but as a force for change.
Through real stories of inclusion, education, opportunity, and outreach, it shines a light on how football brings people together, breaks down barriers, and shapes lives far beyond the pitch.