UEFA Partnership

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 stadia 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 also endeavours to work with stadia and their tenant clubs or national teams to ensure a positive health legacy can be drawn from the hosting of UEFA events. This legacy can focus around the policies implemented for the nominated UEFA event but can also extend to local, regional and national priorities within the host city or country.

A part of our partnership with UEFA we also coordinate communications campaigns to encourage fans, stadia employees and local communities to make healthy choices both inside and outside of sports stadia, using the power of sport to inspire behaviour change to tackle non-communicable diseases.

Healthy Stadia has supported the implementation of comprehensive and pragmatic No Smoking policies covering all stadium users to protect against the health harms of second-hand smoke.

Each Final venue is assessed on existing national legislation which may cover stadia environments, existing use of No Smoking signage, training of stewards, enforcement protocols and additional communications outlets, with recommendations provided for UEFA events to ensure a tobacco-free event.

We also explore active travel provision and advocate for healthier food options and free drinking water to be available to all fans.

UEFA’s two major international tournaments, the Men’s and Women’s European Championships, are held every four years and allows UEFA the time to plan some of the most spectacular events in world football.

Similar to UEFA’s Club Competition Finals, UEFA’s International Tournaments are also declared tobacco-free with No Smoking policies implemented that often exceed national No Smoking legislation.

At UEFA EURO 2020, walking and cycling to host venues will be widely promoted to fans, volunteers and staff as a sustainable and healthy mode of transport to and from host venues. There will also be a focus on healthier food and drink options, competitive pricing of healthier catering options at kiosks and supply of vegetarian options.

Healthy Stadia works directly with UEFA’s 55 Member Associations, providing guidance and support on the implementation  of policies and practices to help promote health and wellbeing.

To date, we have galvanised support from 42 UEFA Member Associations for World Heart Day since 2015 and are currently working with Royal Dutch Football Association and Royal Belgian Football Association on the adoption of Tobacco-Free Stadia policies at domestic level.

We are also working with the Portuguese Football Federation, amongst others, to deliver bespoke physical activity programmes helping overweight fans to lose weight, get active and improve their mental health.