UEFA has published its fifth Football and Social Responsibility Report, looking at UEFA’s social responsibility achievements as well as those of partner bodies in the fields of diversity, inclusion, environment, health, peace and reconciliation, solidarity and fan dialogue.

Since 2012, UEFA has published annual Football and Social Responsibility Reports as part of a five-year cycle. The reports look at UEFA’s social responsibility achievements, as well as those of partner bodies, in the fields of diversity, inclusion, environment, health, peace and reconciliation, solidarity and fan dialogue.

As part of CAFE’s ongoing partnership with UEFA, updates on CAFE's works around improved access and inclusion across football have also featured in these reports.

The report published today summarises efforts made during the 2016/17 football season to integrate social responsibility, including sustainability, in the UEFA business process.

The report fulfils various objectives – to engage with stakeholders about the role that social responsibility plays at UEFA – to show how social responsibility in football can foster sustainable development – and measuring performance with the aim of encouraging progress.

“I believe that UEFA has more than fulfilled these objectives,” says UEFA Executive Committee member and Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee chairman Peter Gilliéron.

In addition to reviewing the past year, the report also takes the opportunity to look back at the work undertaken over the five-year cycle, and uses qualitative and quantitative data to demonstrate the extent to which projects have achieved their goals.

Highlights in 2016/17 include the launch of UEFA’s new social responsibility initiative funded by the UEFA HatTrick programme, to support Europe’s national associations in their FSR work. The report summarises the projects approved by UEFA.

Amongst CAFE’s key successes featured in this report are the hosting of our second international conference at the Stade de France, the delivery of the UEFA Respect Access for All project around UEFA EURO 2016 and the continued growth of the CAFE Week of Action across Europe.

The spotlight also falls on the excellent work carried out to promote an active and healthy lifestyle at UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 last summer. In addition, the report features a contribution from UEFA’s stadium and security unit showing their work to improve safety and security standards at Europe’s stadiums.

With the new 2017-21 cycle underway, the report also reflects on present and future challenges – in particular, following a recent independent review of UEFA’s FSR policy and a comprehensive consultation process.

“By and large, that review resulted in the confirmation of the strategic decisions taken,” said Peter Gilliéron. “It also highlighted the need for increased efforts to tackle Europe’s migration and refugee crises, and address the issue of child safety, and these findings have been taken on board.”

CAFE Managing Director Joanna Deagle said, “We are proud of our continued works with UEFA, and the publication of the fifth Football and Social Responsibility Report again demonstrates UEFA’s commitment to an inclusive and welcoming game for all. We look forward to continuing our partnership with UEFA, and working together towards our shared goal of Total Football Total Access”.

Another new innovation for the new four-year cycle sees the inclusion of human rights criteria in the bidding process for UEFA competitions

UEFA’s #EqualGame campaign launched last August, and Gilliéron adds, is “a further sign of our ambition to maximise the positive impact of football.”

“#EqualGame aims to ensure that football can continue to grow and flourish, helping more people across Europe to access, play and enjoy the game.”

To download the UEFA Football and Social Responsibility Report, please click here.

Published 08/05/2018