UEFA Euro 2024:
Which country will champion climate?
The Euro 2024 was set to be the ‘greenest ever’ with supporter emissions for the summer’s championship down considerably.
After coming under criticism four years ago for hosting the Euros in multiple different countries, UEFA has sought to cluster group stage matches to reduce the amount of travelling done by teams and fans.
Deutsche Bahn for its part is offering fans with a match ticket reduced prices for travel around the country. It has never been easier to travel to a major sporting event by train.
In a tournament where young superstars were born (Yamal) and others faded away (Cristiano Ronaldo), we look to these icons to show an example.
Europe’s leading national football teams who have competed, could have cut their travel emissions by nearly 60% if they avoided flying.
How did the teams perform in terms of sustainable travel?
Media coverage
In March 2024, Travel Smart, and 14 other organisations sent letters to the national football federations to ask the teams to avoid flying during the Euro 2024. We received answers from 5 national federations. Only 2 of them, the German and the Swiss teams, committed to avoid flying during the group phase in Germany. For its part, the Portuguese team shifted to road for 2 out of the 3 games, travelling by coach. To travel to Germany, the Swiss team didn’t take a plane, and travelled by train.
Take a look at the letters:
