UEFA EURO 2024 climate fund distributes additional €1.9m to 81 amateur clubs in Germany

Around €1.9m has been distributed to 81 amateur German clubs as part of the second round of investment from UEFA’s EURO 2024 climate fund.

This climate protection support programme provides direct help to clubs to develop climate actions projects with €4.9m to be spent over three waves. In addition, 21 German regional associations have received a lump sum of €100,000 each.

The initiative underscores the tournament's strong commitment to sustainability, emphasised by the German Football Association (DFB) and the federal government during the bidding phase.

The second wave of successful applications were chosen during an April meeting of the climate fund supervisory committee*, bringing the number of projects funded for clubs up to 161, with €4,1m invested so far.

Massive response from grassroots clubs in Germany

Under the tournament’s sustainability banner, ‘United by Football – Together for Nature’, grassroots clubs playing in the host nation have been able to request financial support for climate protection projects through the climate fund since the start of 2024.

In March, 2,307 projects were submitted in the first wave, followed by 2,019 submissions in the second wave, bringing the total number of applications received to 4,326 thus far.

Depending on the size of each club’s project, they are eligible to receive funding of up to €250,000 to implement their proposals. The clubs themselves must only finance a maximum of €5,000 – or 10% – of the total project costs.

Of the 2,019 applications received during the second wave, the region with the most requests was Bayerischer Fußball-Verband with 533 applications. The second-highest was 210 from Niedersächsischer Fußballverband, with 163 from Fußball- und Leichtathletik-Verband Westfalen in third.

Wide range of projects

In their applications, clubs can put forward projects relating to one or more of the following categories: energy, water, waste management and mobility. Out of 4,326 applications, 3,228 prioritised energy, with a further 425 water, 304 mobility and 74 waste projects. The most popular initiatives are installing LED floodlights (1,715), photovoltaic solar panels (1,321), domestic batteries (894), smart irrigation systems (283) and heat pumps (278).

Around €800,000 of the total €7m made available for the climate fund remains to distribute for the third and final wave of applications. Projects that were waitlisted in the previous two rounds will be reconsidered, while projects with information missing in their application forms will be given another chance to apply. The selection process will be made by the supervisory committee at the end of June/early July.

Further information on the UEFA EURO 2024 climate fund is available here. A full report about the climate fund initiative will be made available after the conclusion of all the planned and funded proposals.

UEFA EURO 2024 ESG strategy

The climate fund is an innovative project that sits at the heart of the UEFA EURO 2024 environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, which was published in June 2023.

The strategy focuses on targeted investments and measures to contribute to the delivery of a successful tournament, and is a key part of UEFA’s vision to make EURO 2024 the reference for event sustainability in the world of sports and a driving force for sustainable development for German and European societies.

*Members of the supervisory committee 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).