NYON: Next summer, UEFA will celebrate a remarkable 60 years of one of the continent’s most prestigious sporting events, when UEFA EURO 2020 is staged in 12 host countries and cities across Europe. Football will act as a bridge between nations and carry this iconic competition closer to the fans, who are the essential lifeblood of the game.

The upcoming UEFA European Football Championship finals not only promise great skills, memorable goals and a wealth of excitement – they will also channel €775.5 million into the UEFA HatTrick programme, to be invested in football’s development throughout Europe.

A proud success story, the UEFA HatTrick programme is celebrating its 15th anniversary this summer. The programme was founded in 2004, starting with the simple idea of taking an ample proportion of European Football Championship revenue and reinvesting it back into football. Since then, HatTrick has grown into one of the largest solidarity and development programmes ever to be established by a sports body. By 2024, HatTrick will have made available a remarkable €2.6 billion in support of its member associations in three key areas – investment, education, and knowledge sharing.

Moreover, these investments have triggered a snowball effect, with statistics showing that for every euro invested by UEFA, other bodies such as national associations, clubs, local authorities and government bodies invest €3.5 of their own. This shared financing is how football really grows, expanding through new relationships, innovation, and solidarity in sport.

But HatTrick goes well beyond the obvious need for infrastructure. Sometimes, the spotlight needs to shine on aspects of football that can fall behind or exist only in the shadows of the elite game – especially when it comes to investments in youth, women’s and grassroots football, club licensing, coaching and referee education, and many other success stories, as described in detail in the latest edition of UEFA’s official magazine UEFA Direct:

http://uefadirect.uefa.com/185/en/16-1

During the past 15 years, HatTrick has significantly influenced the football landscape in the countries of UEFA’s 55 member associations. Millions of people have been touched by the programme, and millions more will be in the future. To ensure momentum and continued growth, the fifth cycle of the programme, which will run from 2020 to 2024, will provide each UEFA member association with the following financial support over a four-year period:

• For investments: €4.5 million over the cycle;

• Running costs: €800,000 per year;

• Participation in youth, women’s, futsal and amateur competitions: €250,000 per year;

• UEFA club licensing system: €250,000 per year;

• Good governance: €200,000 per year;

• UEFA Grassroots Charter: €200,000 per year;

• Women’s football development: €150,000 per year;

• Coaching Convention: €100,000 per year;

• Refereeing Convention: €100,000 per year;

• Elite youth player development: €100,000 per year;

• Football and social responsibility: €100,000 per year;

• National teams’ participation: €100,000 per year;

• Anti-match-fixing and integrity: €50,000 per year.   

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