80 amateur football clubs in Germany will receive funding for sustainability projects as part of UEFA’s EURO 2024 climate fund.
Earlier this year, UEFA announced the fund as its latest green initiative to offset its carbon emissions during the organisation of its quadrennial national tournament.
For each tonne of CO2 emissions produced in the organising of UEFA EURO 2024, €25 ($41.50 AUD) will be donated to the fund.
UEFA projections suggest that the fund will generate €7 million ($11.6 million AUD), to be split across three project application waves.
The fund’s supervisory committee reports that over 2,300 clubs submitted climate-friendly project applications, including the installation/provision of:
- LED floodlights
- Photovoltaic solar panels
- Domestic batteries
- Smart irrigation system
- Sharing stations for e-cars
- Heat pumps
- Thermal insulation
- e-Minibuses
- LED lighting/motion detectors
- Water-saving showerheads
The 80 selected clubs can receive up to €250,000 ($414,000 AUD) to make their project plans a reality, and only need to contribute a maximum of €5,000 (or 10% of the total project costs) of their own funds.
It has determined that first-round funding will be capped at €2.3m ($3.81m AUD), with a further €2.1 million ($3.48m AUD) split evenly across all 21 regional associations in Germany to facilitate their own climate-friendly projects.
The remaining funds will be allocated to second and third round applicants, who can begin applications in April and June respectively.
The 2016 edition of the European Championships emitted 2,825,000 tonnes of CO2, largely built up in air travel and stadium construction, and became the trigger for UEFA to improve its approach to environmental sustainability.
A blessing in disguise, perhaps, is the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic meant fan numbers – and subsequently air travel numbers – were reduced for EURO 2020, Thereby emitting just an estimated 1,275,989 tonnes of CO2.
However, UEFA’s climate fund initiative for EURO 2024 signifies its best foot forward in terms of environmental sustainability.
“The investment of €7m will contribute to a sustainable legacy for the EURO 2024 tournament, making a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions and supporting climate protection,” UEFA Social & Environmental Sustainability Director, Michele Uva said via media release.
“It’s great to see our ESG strategy further coming to life, catalysing actions in support of the environment.”
Meanwhile, German Football Association (DFB) general secretary, Heike Ullrich, paid tribute to UEFA for championing the climate fund initiative which will benefit both football and sustainability in Germany.
“It’s the first time that a climate fund has been set up for a EURO tournament. I think it’s fantastic that we’ve begun to jointly put things into practice, well before the start of the tournament,” she told the UEFA website.
“It’s a great investment for the sake of our climate and in our football infrastructure in Germany. On behalf of the entire German football family, we would like to thank UEFA for the initiative and its implementation.”
The fund is empowering local football clubs to make a significant positive impact on the environment in their communities.
It also brings a major boost for businesses that specialise in delivering environmentally sustainable products.
