UEFA unveils Football Federations of the Future initiative in Madrid

The recent annual UEFA GROW Conference in Madrid saw national associations from across the continent come together to discuss best practices and success stories they have experienced in their drive to develop the business side of their organisations.

“This conference is very important for our relationships with other national federations and at the same time, with UEFA,” said the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales.

“We for example at the Spanish FA, we are finishing now, our first strategic plan in our history and this is possible because UEFA is helping us and we have an incredible gratitude to UEFA for this.”

Since its inception in 2015, UEFA GROW has been helping national associations across the continent to promote and develop football around Europe by using fact-based research, market intelligence and industry experts to create strategic plans and building capacity for growing the game.

However, UEFA GROW is now looking to move one step further by introducing Football Federations of the Future.

Why has Football Federations of the Future been introduced? It is UEFA’s responsibility to stay on top of the challenges that lie ahead and ensure that further sustainable football development in Europe. Football Federations of the Future is aimed at giving UEFA, along with these stakeholders, a platform to develop strategies and enhance performance in order to address crucial facets of the game, such as how to increase participation, how to maximise their business potential and how to build strong relationships with the fans.

“The world is changing, and football must adapt to these changes if it is to satisfy the future needs of its many stakeholders,” said UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin.

“To achieve this, we must be bold in our thinking. We must possess a clarity of purpose that will enable us to establish a vision that defines and articulates our ambition for the future of football across Europe. In doing so, we will be able to reach even greater heights and further strengthen football’s place within European society.”

Football Federations of the Future recognises that each national association is unique, in terms of its size, level of resources, individual strategic priorities and the wider socio-economic and cultural environment in which it operates, and that the national associations themselves understand best how to grow football in their own countries.

This strategic framework has been developed in collaboration with all 55 UEFA member associations along with input from over 40 industry representatives and a similar number of external consultants from across the business, corporate and sporting worlds.

Football Federations of the Future is the long-term vision for the existing UEFA GROW programme, which was established in 2015 with the aim of systematically and strategically growing European football in partnership with national associations.

UEFA GROW has since been implemented across UEFA’s member associations and offers tailor-made strategic services in the areas most relevant for football organisations – from building a better image of football or engaging with the entire football community to increasing revenue opportunities and getting more people, from more parts of society, to play, attend, follow and ultimately fall in love with the game.
Football Federations of the Future will build on this approach by creating a clear, easy-to-follow framework for how associations can best grow football in their respective countries.