European Leagues and UEFA unite domestic leagues around a shared ambition for sustainable football
Thursday, September 24, 2026
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European Leagues and UEFA jointly hosted a two-day workshop in Nyon on 16 and 17 September, with a focus on advancing sustainability across domestic professional football.
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The meeting brought together 19 sustainability experts from professional domestic leagues across Europe, alongside sustainability experts from UEFA and European Football Clubs (EFC). The gathering allowed participants to exchange perspectives and good practices, explore ways to advance social and environmental sustainability within domestic competitions, and consider how best to strengthen cooperation across the European football ecosystem.
Leagues as accelerators of sustainability
As organisers of domestic competitions and the central link to hundreds of professional clubs, leagues occupy an important strategic position within the football ecosystem.
Regular engagement with clubs enables them to translate broader sustainability ambitions into coordinated action at domestic level. In this sense, the workshop helped underline the position and responsibility of leagues to develop common standards, share practical tools and support clubs in their efforts to integrate sustainability into their strategies and matchday operations.
"Cooperation between all football stakeholders is essential to advancing sustainability across football"
The workshop also reaffirmed our shared ambition with European Leagues and clubs to position sustainability as a strategic investment. Continued collaboration between all stakeholders will be essential to turn this ambition into practical and measurable progress throughout European football.
“Cooperation between all football stakeholders is essential to advancing sustainability across football, said Alberto Colombo, general secretary of European Leagues. “That is why bringing our member leagues together with UEFA along with club representation for two days of constructive exchanges was so valuable. Leagues, clubs and national associations must work in coordination and move in the same direction to drive meaningful progress at the domestic level.
Filippo Veglio, UEFA chief of social & environmental sustainability, added: “Sustainability in football will only progress through collaboration across the entire ecosystem. Bringing leagues together to exchange practical experiences helps accelerate learning and turn ambition into concrete action.”
From advice to action: Udinese applies the Football Event Sustainability Manual
The workshop took place only a few months after we jointly launched the first-ever Football Event Sustainability Manual with European Leagues.
Developed in conjunction with the European Leagues Sustainability Expert Group, the manual provides leagues, clubs and national associations with practical guidance for embedding environmental, social and governance considerations throughout every stage of football event organisation – from initial planning and matchday operations to post-event evaluation.
“Udinese’s implementation of the Football Event Sustainability Manual is an excellent example of this cooperation being translated into concrete action,” said Colombo. “This initiative provides a strong model for others, and we encourage leagues and clubs across Europe to follow this path and develop similar projects to increase collective impact.”
The guidance was put into practice by a club for the first time since the manual’s launch. During its Serie A fixture against Cagliari on 19 September, Udinese Calcio implemented its new ‘Play for Sustainability – Our Planet, Our Game” initiative.
“This demonstrates how collective efforts can provide practical tools to drive measurable progress. UEFA is committed to supporting this work and to collaborating with leagues, clubs and national associations to advance sustainability across European football,” explained Veglio.
Using the manual as a framework, Udinese implemented and assessed measures encompassing energy, waste management, responsible catering, accessibility and sustainable mobility. The initiative demonstrated how European guidance can be translated into practical and measurable action at club level, showcasing an approach that can be replicated across European football.