UEFA HatTrick development programme
Thursday, June 2, 2022
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By channelling EURO revenue into football development projects, UEFA’s HatTrick programme plays a key role in our mission as a non-profit organisation: reinvesting as much of our income as possible for the benefit of the European game.
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What is the UEFA HatTrick programme?
The UEFA HatTrick programme was set up in 2004 with the objective to redistribute revenue from UEFA's European Championship final tournament to our member associations for investment in football development projects.
Over the years, the programme has grown into one of the largest development initiatives in sport, redistributing an average 60% of the revenue from each EURO to UEFA's member associations. Most recently, EURO 2020 generated €775.5m to fund activities across the continent over a four-year period.
“We will work to build a unified and solid football ecosystem to grow European football.”
Why is the programme important for UEFA's overall mission?
In keeping with the principles of the European sports model, UEFA reinvests as much as possible of the revenue generated by its flagship competitions into developing the game at all levels – from the grassroots up.
HatTrick accounts for a significant proportion of this funding: by the end of its fifth four-year cycle in 2024, the programme will have channelled a cumulative total of €2.6bn into development activities. This commitment will be strengthened further with the HatTrick VI cycle, which foresees an investment of €935m from 2024–28.
Where does HatTrick make a difference?
Each year for the period 2020–24, HatTrick distributes an average of €195m to support a 'hat-trick' of goals:
1. Increased investment funding
2. Improved education
3. Wider knowledge sharing
For the 2020–24 period, HatTrick will make an annual solidarity payment of €900,000 to each of Europe's national associations. This contributes to both overall running costs and travel expenses of national teams.
In addition, associations can benefit from up to €1.5m of HatTrick funding per year to run a range of other football activities, such as:
- UEFA youth, women's, futsal and amateur competitions
- Club licensing systems
- Good governance
- Grassroots football
- Women's football
- Coaching courses
- Referee training
- Elite youth player development
- Social responsibility projects
- Anti-match fixing and integrity initiatives
Since 2019, the UEFA Academy has overseen HatTrick's education and knowledge-sharing goals, offering educational programmes tailored for administrators, players and specialists developing their football careers.
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How does the HatTrick programme work?
UEFA's national associations can submit project proposals for HatTrick investment funding, which are evaluated by UEFA's HatTrick Committee. If approved, UEFA establishes agreements, and then monitors and supports the implementation of each project by working closely with each association.
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Impact of UEFA HatTrick programme: the score so far (October 2022)
Since its launch, the HatTrick programme has funded more than 760 projects, helping to reshape the future of European football:
Infrastructure
- More than 1,000 pitches and 3,000 mini-pitches have been built ensuring everyone can play the beautiful game, regardless of where they live .
- 34 national training centres have been developed to prepare players, coaches and referees, as well as 35 national stadiums.
- More than 60% of national stadiums have been either modernised or built with the support of UEFA EURO revenue, ensuring player and spectator safety and improving accessibility for people with disabilities.
Youth football
- The UEFA elite youth player development programme has funded more than 400 projects.
- Launched in 2020, the Football in Schools programme has already reached around 2.4 million children from over 44,000 schools. In parallel, over 100,000 schoolteachers have been educated to deliver footballing training sessions, vastly surpassing the initial target of 63,000.
Women's football
- Nearly 700 projects have been funded through the UEFA women's football development programme, of which ~60% have created opportunities for girls and women to play football.
UEFA Academy courses
- HatTrick funds have helped increase both the variety of UEFA Academy programmes on offer to football professionals and the number of graduates – over 3,000 by July 2022, representing 150 nationalities.
- The Executive Master for International Players (MIP) helps ex-professionals equip themselves to build a second career in football.
Social and environmental projects
- Since 2016, HatTrick has helped to fund more than 500 social and environmental projects in national association countries.
Added value
- HatTrick’s impact stretches far beyond the playing field, with UEFA's investment supplemented by national associations, clubs, governments and local authorities.
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Documents
UEFA HatTrick V Regulations
UEFA HatTrick programme – Overview
HatTrick Review 2004 – 2014