The aim of the UEFA GROW Awards is to reward and endorse the initiatives and successes of the UEFA member national associations, while also communicating best-practice models from around Europe.
Going into the Awards, a record 106 applications had been submitted by 44 national associations across five categories: image, participation, engagement, revenues and women’s football marketing. A jury comprising five experts selected the overall winner in each section, while also handing out a creativity and innovation award.
The awards ceremony was part of the UEFA GROW Conference, attended by all 55 UEFA national associations.
Full list of award categories and winners:
Image
- Winner: English Football Association (FA) – Three Lions World Cup Campaign
- Creativity and Innovation award: Latvian Football Federation (LFF) – New brand identity for Latvian football and Latvian national team
- Special mentions by jury: Israel Football Association (IFA) – Shield of honour; Romanian Football Federation (FRF) – Youth Council
Participation
- Winner: Football Federation of Belarus (BFF) – Dad, Mom, Me – football family!
- Creativity and Innovation award: Danish Football Association (DBU) – The world’s most exciting, engaging and effective digital grassroots universe
- Special mentions by jury: Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) – Play away, play everywhere; Football Association of Wales (FAW) – Play More Football
Engagement
- Winner: Croatian Football Federation (HNS) – Digital and PR strategy: Family
- Creativity and Innovation award: Italian Football Federation (FIGC) – First Hackathon on Italian Football
- Special mentions by jury: Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) – Why Not? digital campaign; Turkish Football Federation (TFF) – National Team Kids Club
Revenues
- Winner: French Football Federation (FFF) – Sponsorship business strategy
- Creativity and Innovation award: Slovak Football Association (SFZ) – E-Shop as a tool to support football development
- Special mention by jury: Football Association of Norway (NFF) – Norwegian Sports Medicine Centre
Women’s football marketing
- Winner: Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) – UEFA Women’s EURO campaign
- Creativity and Innovation award: Swedish Football Association (SvFF) – #InYourName
- Special mention by jury: Football Association of Moldova (FMF) – Girls Camp Festival
What is UEFA GROW?
Promoting and developing football across Europe is a key concern for UEFA and its 55 national associations. This is the function of UEFA GROW, a programme launched in 2015 with the aim of systematically and strategically ‘growing’ European football by inspiring and collaborating with national associations in order to ensure they can maximise their full potential on and off the pitch.
“UEFA GROW is our central business development support programme nurturing football across Europe,” said UEFA’s national associations director Zoran Lakovic.
“UEFA GROW offers tailor-made consultancy services to our national associations in the areas that are most relevant for football organisations, from improving football’s image to increasing revenue opportunities and getting more people to play our beautiful game.”