With the destination of the title long decided and the three relegated teams already condemned, the intrigue of the final day of the 2024/25 Premier League season centred around which teams could secure a top-five finish and Champions League football for next term.
In the end, Nottingham Forest’s against-the-odds push for a place at Europe’s top table fell agonisingly short and Aston Villa missed out after a refereeing controversy and a poor performance on their own part saw them slip to defeat against Manchester United. And so champions Liverpool and Europa League winners Tottenham were joined by Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle in qualifying for the Champions League.
But earning qualification is just the first step to becoming a Champions League club. Before any side can actually compete in club football’s most prestigious tournament, they must also conform to an array of demands handed down by UEFA.
First, of course, there is Financial Fair Play (which was actually renamed UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations in 2022. Less catchy). FSR dictates that clubs can report losses of no more than €60million over a three-year period, although that figure is allowed to rise as high as €90million if a club’s owner covers losses via equity.
FSR compliance also requires that clubs have no overdue outstanding payments owed to other teams, employees or tax authorities. And any amount spent on wages, transfers and agents’ fees must not exceed 70% of the club’s revenue.
Failure to comply with FSR could see UEFA refuse to license a club to participate in its competitions.
Licences can also be denied or revoked if Champions League clubs do not have a stadium or training facility that meets UEFA’s standards, or if a club does not have sufficiently qualified personnel in key positions such as head coach, finance officer, general manager or certain posts within the medical staff.
There are certain sporting criteria that clubs must meet, too. These include, for instance, operating a youth development program and having adequate medical care in place for players.
UEFA have also implemented several measures to promote environmental sustainability.
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For instance, all clubs competing in UEFA competitions are required to produce sustainability reports and outline their environmental objectives. UEFA have also developed a ‘carbon footprint calculator’ to assist clubs in assessing their environmental impact. Every team must have in place an environmental sustainability officer who oversees their club’s strategy for greener practices.
This is all folded into the European football governing body’s ambitious sustainability goals, headlined by a commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, with a 50% reduction by 2030.
They have also introduced guidelines to promote the reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of materials in their operations. UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, operates on 98% renewable energy and features 30 electric vehicle charging stations.
The Euro 2024 tournament provided UEFA the chance to showcase their green goals. There, they implemented measures such as zero waste to landfill and boasted 81% public transport usage by ticket holders and a 75% reduction in flights compared to Euro 2016.
But as the Champions League grows, the very existence and operation of UEFA’s signature club competition makes their sustainability targets a difficult needle to thread.
The expansion to a 36-team group stage for the 2024/25 campaign is estimated to have added 112,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, with over 500 million air miles expected to be flown in a season.
So what more can be done to make the Champions League a more environmentally sustainable endeavour?
One potential solution to reduce emissions is the regionalisation of the group stage. By grouping teams geographically, travel distances and associated emissions can be significantly reduced, with teams and fans forced to cover less distance by air and making alternatives such as rail travel more viable.
UEFA could also ask more of its competing clubs without stretching the boundaries of reasonability. They could, for instance, make sustainability reporting a requirement for all clubs, not just a recommendation.
And they could incentivise sustainable practices with cash or competitive prizes, just as clubs used to be able to qualify for the UEFA Cup or Europa League via the UEFA Respect Fair Play rankings that incentivised teams to earn fewer yellow and red cards on the pitch.
Measures such as these could strengthen UEFA’s commitment to sustainability and set a precedent for other sports organisations.
As Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan prepare to face off in the final this weekend, the prestige and financial gains promised by the Champions League mean that, more than ever, clubs are willing to go to great lengths to be a part of the spectacle.
Folding in a few more environmental sustainability requirements would be no great inconvenience for the continent’s mega-clubs yet could have profound and far-reaching benefits for all involved.
To learn more about Pledgeball and how you can pledge to help your club shoot up the sustainability standings, visit Pledgeball.org.