2024 in review: Developing every level of European football
miércoles, 18 de diciembre de 2024
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Record levels of reinvestment, a renewed strategic commitment to women’s football and the continued support of initiatives strengthening all aspects of the game defined the past 12 months.
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HatTrick: 20 years and counting
This year marked the 20th anniversary of UEFA HatTrick, our flagship football development scheme that has reinvested €2.6bn of UEFA EURO revenue back into the game since 2004.
HatTrick has grown into one of the world’s largest sports solidarity initiatives and a key driver of our not-for-profit mission, contributing to the construction of 35 national stadiums and 34 national training centres, more than 1,000 full-size pitches, 3,000 mini pitches, 700 women's football programmes, 500 social and environmental projects, and much more.
"The programme goes beyond financial aid. For me, supporting football development at all levels across Europe helps to foster a deeper connection between communities and the game. It promotes a sense of unity that strengthens all of our society."
HatTrick's power to change lives and communities on and off the pitch is set to grow even further, with the latest cycle redistributing a record €935m of EURO 2024 revenue between now and 2028 – a substantial 21% increase on the previous edition, taking the programme’s total investment to €3.5bn.
Each of our 55 member associations will be eligible for funding over the next four years, but HatTrick support is also catalytic – evidence shows that for every one euro of direct support from UEFA, governments, local authorities and the private sector invest three more into association projects.
New heights for women's football
Our new women's football strategy, Unstoppable, was launched in October. It is set to take the game to unprecedented heights, building on the transformational success of our first women’s football strategy, Time for Action.
The new strategy features eight strategic priorities geared towards achieving four long-term goals.
"Unstoppable is our road map to lay the groundwork for a sustainable future, unlocking the full potential of women’s football. As we enter this exciting new era, we must continue with the same passion that has driven us this far. Our mission is simple – to help women’s football gain a prominent place in the European sporting community."
Unstoppable: four long-term goals for 2030
Over the next six years, Unstoppable will help us make women's football:
- The most-played team sport for women and girls in every European country, through developing football pathways for players, coaches and referees alongside grassroots opportunities
- The home of the world’s top players, with six fully professional leagues and 5,000 fully professional players across the continent
- The most sustainable and investable women’s sport, with record-breaking UEFA competitions
- Celebrated for its unique values and community, where everyone believes that they can have a place in women’s football.
UEFA Women's EURO 2025 in Switzerland represents a powerful opportunity to showcase the women’s game and spur further increased participation. We worked with the Swiss Football Association to launch a legacy plan, 'Here to Stay', which includes ambitions to double the number of girls and women playing football in Switzerland from 40,000 to 80,000, and the number of women working as coaches and referees from 2,500 to 5,000.
We also announced an exciting new era for women's club competitions, with the UEFA Women's Champions League adopting an 18-team league phase from the 2025/26 season. The new UEFA Women’s Europa Cup – a two-legged knockout competition – will also begin, opening the doors of European football to more teams than ever before.
This new era will be supported by a new financial distribution system, with centralised media and sponsorship rights contributing to a significant boost in revenue that will benefit clubs across the continent.
Growing the grassroots game
As the foundation of our sport, developing grassroots football is at the heart of our mission year-round, and 2024 was no different.
In September, our Football in Schools programme, which has helped more than three million children across Europe enjoy football since 2020, was renewed for four more years until 2028, with a further investment of €11m offering millions more children the chance to play our sport.
The Football in Schools renewal was central to the UEFA Grassroots Week celebrations in Prague, where president Aleksander Čeferin and footballing legends including Luís Figo and Eric Abidal joined local schoolchildren for a festival of fun and friendly football.
"Children can learn so many values from the beautiful game, so it is imperative that we provide these opportunities. I am delighted that we will continue with this successful programme over the next four years."
Earlier in the year, our UEFA Grassroots Awards shone a light on some of the most impactful programmes around Europe, with initiatives in Slovakia, England, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Italy recognised.
The 2023/24 UEFA Grassroots Awards winners
Best Professional Club: FC DAC 1904 (Slovakia)
Best Amateur Club: GOALS (Armenia)
Best Disability Initiative: Disability support package for clubs (England)
Best Participation Initiative: Football festivals for children from orphanages (Kazakhstan)
Best Education Initiative: Calcio+15 (Italy)
In 2024, the number of young girls introduced to football through UEFA Playmakers reached 100,000, across 47 of our member associations. The programme also welcomed its first ambassador, Sweden legend Lotta Schelin, a passionate advocate for growing the women's game.
Giving youth a chance to shine
The tenth edition of the UEFA Youth League continued the competition’s history of providing a platform for the best young footballers in Europe, offering them a chance to test themselves against top-quality opposition.
More than 1,000 players have now graduated from the Youth League to feature in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. A new, expanded format introduced for the 2024/25 season is providing even more players with the chance to gain invaluable European experience.
Developing youth players isn’t just about on-pitch experience, though; our revamped education programme is supporting our member associations to deliver tailored anti-match-fixing and anti-doping sessions to all Under-17 and Under-19 men's and women's players participating in our youth competitions.
Keeping club football healthy
In May, we celebrated the 20-year anniversary of the UEFA club licensing system, which continues to promote and elevate standards across the continent.
Requiring clubs to meet minimum standards across six areas – sport, social and ecological sustainability, infrastructure, personnel and administrative, legal, and financial – the system has helped European football adapt to an ever-evolving landscape and prepare for future challenges.
"Club licensing is a tool and guidance for the development of each key segment of the football industry. It protects the heritage, values and identity of European football, by ensuring legal and sporting succession throughout the whole domestic and international football pyramid."
Support for club football was bolstered further in 2024 with our new men’s club competition formats including a revamped financial distribution system. Clubs not competing in Europe's most prestigious continental club competitions are set to be boosted by an unprecedented increase in solidarity payments of 76% - a yearly total of €308m.