Inside and outside stadiums across Germany, we teamed up with charity organisations and tournament sponsors to provide a series of unforgettable moments and activities for children, as well as helping raise awareness of sustainability topics such as inclusivity, the fight against racism, children’s rights, and accessibility.

 

10,000 smiles

In collaboration with EURO 2024 sponsor the Kaizen Foundation, we donated 10,000 tickets to disadvantaged children and teenagers in all ten host cities as part of the 10,000 Smiles project. This campaign benefited 200 charitable organisations, and 250 tickets were set aside for the first four matches in each host city.

Thomas Pollak, EURO 2024 project manager for the host city of Stuttgart, said:

"Football stands for diversity and connects all groups and social classes. The 10,000 Smiles project is a prime example. We are delighted that these children and teenagers, accompanied by their parents and guardians, were able to enjoy an unforgettable experience at our arena during the group stage. It shows once again that football is more than just sport and can build bridges between people – regardless of their background or circumstances."

 

Robot

Together with the global home appliance and consumer electronics brand Hisense, we also launched Faith In Young Champions, a public welfare initiative, during EURO 2024. The supplier Awabot implemented the programme, providing robots to hospitalised children for whom attending the tournament would be a dream come true.

The football-loving children could use the robots to enter exclusive areas such as the warm-up zone, the dressing rooms and the VIP areas, and get closer to their beloved players or teams.

Key figures

• 8 telepresence robots
• 4 stadiums, in Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, and Munich
• 23 games
• nearly 50 ill or disabled youngsters in 25 European countries and other parts of the world

 

Lidl player mascots

In collaboration with EURO sponsor Lidl, children from the organisations SOS Children’s Villages and In Safe Hands had the chance to be player mascots for Türkiye vs Georgia match on 18 June.

 

Fan festivals

Activities promoting foundation projects were organised at all the EURO fan festivals staged in each city. For example, A Ball for All organized matches for visually impaired children using a special jingling football. Anyone could get involved to discover first-hand what it’s like to play the game without being able to see. Football for Unity 2.0, meanwhile, created a series of initiatives focusing on equality, including a video shown in fan zones encouraging fans to fight racism.

Second Life

UEFA’s sustainability drive continued after the tournament, with the Second Life project redistributing leftover materials and equipment. Local organisations benefited from a diverse range of recycled goods, including adidas tournament uniforms and unsold official merchandise as well as office equipment (tables, printers, monitors, and even refrigerators) and stadium dressing material. Anything that could be reused was found a new home.

 

Auction

The ball kicked by Mikel Oyarzabal to score the winning goal in the EURO 2024 final raised €20,000 for the UEFA Foundation for Children. It was identified using adidas Connected Ball technology and auctioned on Catawiki. All proceeds went to the foundation.