The Euro 2024 football tournament will promote vegan food and “all-gender toilets” as part of a major “diversity and inclusion” drive, organisers have announced.
Due to be hosted in Germany next year, the international competition is being arranged with the help of the country’s progressive government, as well as numerous left-leaning NGOs including Amnesty International.
In a press release published on July 17, the tournament’s organiser, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), confirmed there would be significant focus put on “social and environmental sustainability”.
“In line with increased societal expectations around football needing to accelerate action around social and environmental sustainability, this is our chance to lead by example by delivering the tournament to the highest sustainability standards,” said UEFA Director, Social & Environmental Sustainability Michele Uva.
As part of such efforts, a variety of ‘green’ measures are to be implemented, such as tournament venues only being allowed to use reusable or “environmentally friendly” cups for beverages.
The importance of climate “advocacy” will also be pushed to attendees, with organisers saying they want to engage in “awareness-raising” activities regarding climate change throughout the tournament.
On the cultural side of things, UEFA directors have vowed that there will be “healthy” vegan and vegetarian food available at all stadiums hosting tournament matches.
They have also mandated that the food being offered at matches meets their, as-yet undefined, standards of being sufficiently “culturally diverse”.
Gender-neutral toilets are to be installed in every stadium, with UEFA planning to ensure that there are points of contact within the stadiums where fans can report so-called “discriminatory incidents”.
UEFA will set targets for the minimum number of such incidents reported that way, with the group describing such a metric as being a key performance indicator.
Speaking about the plans, Germany’s Antifa-linked interior minister Nancy Faeser praised the tournament’s focus on diversity and green goals, describing them as in line with those of the country’s government.
“We want to use football as a unifying force to help combat racism and discrimination in sport as well as in other sectors,” Faeser said.
“I therefore welcome the fact that UEFA also wants to set standards for a sustainable tournament with its environmental, social and governance strategy for the Euros in Germany.”
