UEFA Faces Significant Losses Due to U.S. Dollar Decline
Major Financial Impact
The depreciation of the U.S. dollar in the previous year led to a financial setback of approximately $55 million for UEFA.
In the early months of 2025, the dollar’s value dropped nearly 9% against various international currencies. Economists attribute this decline to diminishing investor faith in the U.S. amidst Donald Trump’s return to presidency in January.
UEFA pointed to factors like “economic, market, and geopolitical dynamics” along with the “sudden weakening of the U.S. dollar” as key reasons for the foreign exchange losses that impacted their financial results for the 2024-25 football season.
Currency Fluctuations and Financial Summary
“In recent years, UEFA has seen considerable gains from a strong U.S. dollar,” the organization stated in their annual financial report, which spanned 52 pages and refrained from specifically naming Trump.
However, a significant shift occurred in March 2025, when the dollar’s rapid decline resulted in currency exchange losses of €47 million, translating to approximately $54.5 million based on Thursday’s exchange rate.
Financial Reserves
This amount closely matched UEFA’s overall net result, reported at minus-€46.2 million ($53.6 million), which was covered by its reserves. The dollar-related losses reduced UEFA’s reserves to €521.8 million ($605 million) by the end of June, just above their target of €500 million, which is essential for ensuring ongoing funding for its 55 member associations and for organizing competitions at all levels.
While UEFA’s club tournaments like the Champions League generate substantial revenue each season, a significant portion is allocated to prize money, leaving little profit for the organization headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland.
The men’s European Championship, held every four years, raised approximately €2.5 billion during its 2024 event in Germany, bolstering UEFA’s reserves and supporting the main funding initiative known as “HatTrick,” which provides member federations with double the annual funding they receive from FIFA.
Future Financial Considerations
In the financial report, UEFA underscored the necessity of maintaining a substantial U.S. dollar reserve to support pending hedge transactions. As the dollar began to decline a year prior, UEFA warned that “sizeable losses were unavoidable.”
The report noted that while foreign exchange results had been consistently favorable for several years, a drastic change occurred in spring 2025 due to various economic, market, and geopolitical factors. UEFA expressed disappointment regarding their asset management performance last year, especially when juxtaposed with the exceptionally profitable 2023-24 financial year experienced during the previous U.S. administration.
