UEFA EURO 2024 Human Rights Board: Insights and Recommendations from the Centre for Sport and Human Rights
Author - Centre for Sport and Human Rights
This document presents independent reflections from the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR) on the role and work of the UEFA EURO 2024 Human Rights Board (“the Board”) in which CSHR participated between May and November 2024.
The Board was established to promote structured exchange between tournament organisers and human rights stakeholders on the human rights risks identified for EURO 2024 and to support the successful implementation of various human rights measures put in place.
In the review, CSHR recognises and welcomes the series of human rights initiatives undertaken by UEFA for EURO 2024, UEFA’s responsiveness to human rights stakeholders in the run up to and during the tournament, and the access and transparency afforded to members of the board.
The document includes a series of recommendations to UEFA to further expand on the good practices established for EURO 2024 and build on this experience for major tournaments in the future, including that UEFA:
- Strengthens engagement, risk assessment and mitigation processes;
- Appoints a standing human rights board;
- Further develops fan welfare measures and rapid response systems;
- Reinforces event-related grievance mechanisms; and
- Adopts a formal human rights policy.
UEFA has acknowledged CSHR’s recommendations and will establish a UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 human rights advisory board in the coming weeks.
Prepared by CSHR’s William Rook, Daniela Heerdt, and Guido Battaglia, the review benefited from input from members of the Board and UEFA representatives prior to finalisation.
Some organisations represented on the Board have also published their own perspectives on human rights at EURO 2024 and the legacy opportunities in Germany, including Reporters Without Borders.
