Reinvesting in the future: How EURO 2024's legacy lives on this summer
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
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Revenue from last year's EURO is helping every one of Europe's 55 national associations to keep the game moving forward. We look at how host nations of this year's UEFA final tournaments have used EURO funding to help them prepare.
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By 2028, nearly one billion euros of UEFA EURO 2024 revenue will have been reinvested into European football through the UEFA HatTrick programme.
UEFA has already distributed a cumulative €2.6 billion to its 55 member national associations since the programme launched in 2004, channelling on average more than half of each UEFA EURO's revenue into football development.
The further €935 million of EURO 2024 revenue that has been set aside for investment – equivalent to €17 million per UEFA member association – means that by the time EURO 2028 kicks off, UEFA and HatTrick will have reinvested a total of €3.5 billion into hundreds of football projects across the continent.
Every one of those projects allows national associations to get more people playing football, to improve infrastructure or to increase standards throughout the football pyramid, on and off the pitch – whether that’s building or renovating facilities, running education programmes or earmarking funding for specific strategic priorities.
The impact and legacy of the EURO – both past and ongoing – will be evident at UEFA final tournaments kicking off this summer.
Women's EURO 2025 in Switzerland: serving the players of today and tomorrow
For many years, HatTrick has funded the Swiss Football Association's (SFV) national youth training centre for girls. The centre provides a high-performance environment for the country’s most talented 13-to-15-year-olds, enabling them to fulfil their sporting potential and preparing them for national-team football. Over two or three years, participants receive bespoke training and support alongside their school studies.
The impact of the programme will be showcased at UEFA Women's EURO 2025 in July, with the list of graduates currently playing for Switzerland including Ramona Bachmann, Viola Calligaris, Noelle Maritz, Géraldine Reuteler, Julia Stierli and Lia Wälti.
Regions' Cup in San Marino: providing a platform for the best amateur talent
San Marino's Stadio di Acquaviva is one of two venues that will host June's final tournament of the UEFA Regions' Cup, Europe's top competition for amateur players.
After extreme weather and flooding left the pitch unplayable earlier this year, HatTrick funding has been used to relay the pitch with a FIFA Quality Pro surface. This will allow the Acquaviva to continue to welcome not only the Regions' Cup next month but the hundreds of San Marino academy and youth matches and training sessions that it stages year-round.
U17 EURO in Albania: creating a national home fit for finals
The Arena Kombëtare (or Air Albania Stadium) in Tirana, the home of the Albania national team, will serve as a stunning venue for five UEFA European Under-17 Championship matches this month and next, including the hosts' opener against Portugal and the final.
Opened in 2019, the state-of-the-art arena – Albania’s largest – is a significant upgrade in terms of infrastructure and facilities on the 60-year-old Qemal Stafa Stadium it replaced, both for players and fans. HatTrick funding not only contributed directly to its construction, but proved a valuable catalyst in attracting further private investment.
It is estimated that every €1 in HatTrick money generates more than €3 in investment from other sources such as governments, local authorities and clubs.
Women's U17 EURO in Faroe Islands: shining a light on Europe's young stars
The Faroe Islands are hosting a UEFA final tournament for the first time this month, as the UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship heads to the North Atlantic.
The tournament's two venues – Tórsvøllur Stadium in Tórshavn and Við Djúpumýru in Klaksvík – have had new sets of floodlights installed thanks to HatTrick funds, helping them comply with stadium requirements. They were part of a much wider HatTrick-supported renovation at Tórsvøllur Stadium – the Faroe Islands' national stadium – which included the reconstruction of the stands and upgrades to the pitch.
The EURO's sustained impact
For UEFA, the success of EURO 2024 will not be measured purely by the on-pitch spectacle witnessed in Germany, nor by the effect its legacy has already had across Europe, but also by the four-year impact of the hundreds of development projects it helps make a reality.