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As part of UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany, and under the slogan ‘United by Football – Together for Nature’, UEFA announced a climate fund at the start of the year from which German amateur clubs are able to request financial support for climate protection projects until June 30.
The climate fund has proved to be an instant success with the German football community: 2,307 clubs from all 21 regional associations have submitted applications since the climate fund was announced on January 8.
Clubs are able to suggest projects relating to one or more of the following four categories: energy, water, waste management and mobility. So far, the most popular projects among the applications have been linked to the installation of LED floodlights (1,029 projects), photovoltaic solar panels (572), domestic batteries (387), smart irrigation system (151), sharing stations for e-cars (132), heat pumps (128), thermal insulation (125), e-minibuses (120), LED lighting/motion detectors (116) and water-saving showerheads (68).
In the first of three scheduled fund-application review waves, a supervisory committee* representing all the involved stakeholders has now confirmed the 80 selected projects, which fulfilled the application criteria and were deemed the best projects in relation to CO2-reduction efficiency. Depending on the size of the project, they will receive funding of up to €250,000 to implement their proposals. Clubs only have to finance a maximum of €5,000 or 10% of the total project costs themselves.
Overall, the financial support allocated by UEFA in this first round amounts to €2.3m of the total available €7m, which also includes €2.1m allocated to all 21 regional associations (€100,000 each) to fund their own climate-protection projects or support their regional clubs. The remaining amount will be allocated in the second and third project review waves, which are scheduled for the end of April and the end of June this year. Projects which have been waitlisted will be reconsidered in the next rounds, and projects with information missing in their application forms will be given another chance to apply.
Michele Uva, UEFA social & environmental sustainability director, said, “UEFA’s climate fund offer has already inspired 2,300 grassroots clubs all over Germany, confirming the appeal of the programme and showing the acceleration potential of this initiative. The investment of €7m will contribute to a sustainable legacy for the EURO 2024 tournament, making a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions and supporting climate protection. It’s great to see our ESG strategy further coming to life, catalysing actions in support of the environment.”
Heike Ullrich, German Football Association (DFB) general secretary, said, “It’s the first time that a climate fund has been set up for a EURO tournament. I think it’s fantastic that we’ve begun to jointly put things into practise well before start of the tournament. It’s a great investment for the sake of our climate and in our football infrastructure in Germany. On behalf of the entire German football family, we would like to thank UEFA for the initiative and its implementation.”
Further information on the UEFA climate fund for EURO 2024 is available here. A full report listing each project will be made available after the conclusion of all the planned and funded proposals.
* Members of the supervisory board are Martin Kallen (CEO of UEFA Events SA), Juliane Seifert (state secretary of the Ministry of the Interior and Community), Heike Ullrich (DFB general secretary), Michele Uva (UEFA social & environmental sustainability director), and Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu (business engagement lead, UN Climate Change – UNFCCC).
