Partners & Funding

The European Healthy Stadia Network is a not-for profit Community Interest Company (CIC) that is part of the UK-based Health Equalities Group or HEG.

HEG is a health and wellbeing alliance that designs, develops and evaluates evidence-based policies and practices that seek to tackle non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, amongst others, and alleviate health inequalities.

Taking an upstream approach to tackling non-communicable diseases, HEG looks to affect change on a population level but also develops targeted intervention to support the most vulnerable in society.

Healthy Stadia is an associate partner within UEFA’s Football and Social Responsibility portfolio, and works in close cooperation with UEFA, UEFA Member Associations, clubs and stadia in order to develop policies that ensure a healthy matchday environment at signature UEFA events. This includes UEFA’s club competition finals and international tournaments.

Our work covers a number of key themes including tobacco-free stadia, healthier food and drink options at concessions and promotion of walking and cycling on a matchday, amongst others. Site visits are conducted alongside UEFA to assess existing provision at stadia with recommendations for events on selected health themes provided thereafter.

Healthy Stadia has been involved in several European projects, aligned to both health and sports funding streams, focused predominantly around how the power of sport can be leveraged to increase physical activity levels in different population groups and therefore improve public health outcomes.

These include large scale research projects exploring how football clubs in different countries can empower their fans to get fit and lose weight, to building capacity in grassroots sports organisations to demonstrate the impact of their work, advocate for greater political support and ultimately, help individuals and communities increase their physical activity.