Exactly 2307 German amateur clubs had applied to UEFA to receive shares from a climate fund. The Union of European Football Associations has now made the announcement: Payouts will be made to 80 clubs.
Since the UEFA announcement on January 8, 2024, under the motto “United by Football. Together for Nature”, more than 2,300 clubs from all 21 German regional associations had submitted applications.
As a result, German soccer showed great interest in the sustainability initiatives
Funding of up to 250,000 euros
Clubs were able to propose projects in one or more of the following four areas: energy and water consumption, waste management and mobility. According to the official UEFA press release from this Tuesday (March 5), most of the applications According to UEFA’s official announcement on Tuesday (5 March), “most applications so far have been for the installation of LED floodlights (1029 projects), photovoltaic panels (572), energy storage batteries (387), smart irrigation systems (151), car-sharing stations for electric cars (132), heat pumps (128), thermal insulation (125), electric minibuses (120), LED lighting/motion detectors (116) and water-saving shower heads (68).”
A supervisory committee – whose members include Martin Kallen (CEO of UEFA Events SA), Juliane Seifert (State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home Affairs) and Heike Ullrich (DFB General Secretary) – has now selected 80 projects from the projects received so far in the first of three review phases that meet the application criteria and potentially reduce CO2 emissions most efficiently.
Depending on the scope of the project, the associations will receive funding of up to 250,000 euros to implement their proposals. The associations only have to contribute a maximum of 5,000 or ten percent of the total project costs themselves.
Michele Uva, UEFA Director of Social and Environmental Sustainability, was quoted in the press release as saying: “The UEFA Climate Fund has already inspired 2,300 grassroots football clubs across Germany, which underlines the attractiveness of the program and shows the great potential of this initiative. The investment of seven million euros will contribute to a sustainable legacy of UEFA EURO 2024 and have a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions and climate protection. It is great to see our ESG strategy being brought to life and driving action to protect the environment.”
Heike Ullrich, Secretary General of the German Football Association (DFB), added: “This is the first time a climate fund has been set up for a EURO. It is fantastic that it is already being implemented together before the tournament. It’s a great investment in climate protection and in our soccer infrastructure in Germany. “
