UEFA helps German football tackle climate change with EURO 2024 climate fund

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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.

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Football South Australia renews partnership with Datacord as Community Football Commitment Deepens

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Image Credit: Football SA

Football South Australia has announced the renewal of its partnership with Datacord, continuing a relationship that has grown steadily since the South Australian print and document solutions provider first entered the football community as naming rights sponsor of the Collegiate Soccer League Division 1.

That initial agreement, which saw Datacord align with one of Adelaide’s most historic amateur competitions, marked the beginning of what has since developed into a broader commitment to South Australian football at every level. The renewed partnership extends Datacord’s involvement beyond the CSL and into the wider Football SA ecosystem, with clubs across the state now able to access exclusive offers and preferred pricing on photocopying, managed print services and tailored business solutions.

The practical value of that access should not be understated. Community football clubs operate on tight margins, relying heavily on volunteer administrators managing everything from registration paperwork to grant applications. Cost-effective print and document solutions reduce the operational burden on those volunteers, a small but meaningful contribution to the sustainability of clubs that form the backbone of the game in South Australia.

“George is a great supporter of sport in South Australia and we are delighted to have Datacord as a supporter of football,” said Football SA CEO Michael Carter. “Service is second to none and we highly recommend their services to the business community within the Football Family.”

For Datacord Managing Director George Koutsoubis, the renewal reflects a genuine investment in the community rather than a transactional commercial arrangement. “It is important to support the local community, and Football South Australia is the perfect place to start spreading the word about Datacord and what we do for the South Australian community,” he said. “We are locally owned and operated, and I think it is a great partnership to be part of.”

Football NSW releases $600,000 towards Grassroots Grants to meet Participation Pressure

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The Victorian State Government has announced new grants and funding for 11 new community infrastructure projects for local football clubs, totalling $3.8 million.
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Sixty-five football clubs across New South Wales have secured a combined total of nearly $600,000 in funding through the NSW Office of Sport’s Local Sports Grant Program. It follows as a result of Football NSW’s scale of demand for community sport support and the growing pressure on clubs struggling to keep pace with surging participation.

The grants, covering 69 individual projects across the Football NSW footprint, will fund facility upgrades, equipment purchases, participation programs and accessibility improvements: the unglamorous but essential infrastructure that determines whether community clubs can function at the level their members require.

The Local Sports Grant Program made up to $4.65 million available statewide in 2025, with $50,000 allocated to each electoral district and individual grants capped at $20,000. Football’s share of nearly $600,000 reflects the sport’s status as the largest participation code in NSW, and the degree to which that status has not always been matched by corresponding investment in the facilities and resources required to sustain it.

Volunteers carrying an unsustainable load

The announcement arrives against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the volunteer workforce that keeps community football operational. Across NSW, thousands of volunteers dedicate significant unpaid time each week to administration, ground preparation, canteen operation and the logistical demands of running competitive junior and senior programs. As participation numbers climb, driven in part by the sustained visibility of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, those demands have intensified without a corresponding increase in the resources available to meet them.

“As the largest participation sport in NSW it is pleasing to see almost $600,000 will be reinvested back into supporting our players, coaches, referees and volunteers to improve the football experience across our community clubs,” said Helen Armson, Football NSW’s Group Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Affairs.

The equity dimension

The distribution of the grants across 65 clubs and 69 projects also speaks to the geographic breadth of football’s footprint in NSW, and to the uneven distribution of resources that has historically characterised community sport in this country. Clubs in outer metropolitan and regional areas tend to operate with smaller budgets, older facilities and thinner volunteer bases than their inner-city counterparts. Grant programs structured around electoral allocation, rather than club size or existing resource base, provide a degree of equity that market-driven funding cannot.

The kinds of projects funded under this program disproportionately benefit clubs serving communities where the barriers to participation are highest. A club that cannot offer adequate facilities or equipment is a club that turns players away, often without intending to.

Football NSW has used the announcement to call on the NSW Government to maintain and extend its investment in the sport. “We urge the government to continue to invest in football,” Armson said, in the midst for a nation-wide push for a $343 million decade-long infrastructure fund to address the facilities gap across the state.

The nearly $600,000 secured through this round is meaningful. Against the scale of what is needed, it is also a measure of how far the investment still has to go.

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