UEFA cites fall in US dollar last year for $55 million loss in accounts

GENEVA (AP) — The autumn successful the U.S. dollar worth past twelvemonth outgo UEFA astir $55 million.

The dollar worth dropped astir 9% against a scope of overseas currencies successful the archetypal months of 2025, which economists linked to investors’ waning assurance successful the U.S. nether President Donald Trump, who returned to bureau past January.

UEFA cited “economic, marketplace and geopolitical dynamics” and a “sudden weakening of the U.S. dollar” for driving the overseas speech losses which accounted for the nonaccomplishment successful its accounts for the 2024-25 shot season.

“In the past fewer years, UEFA benefited from a beardown U.S. dollar starring to important gains connected overseas exchange,” the assemblage said connected Thursday successful its 52-page yearly fiscal study which did not sanction Trump.

“In March 2025, however, the tides turned, and the U.S. dollar rapidly weakened by astir 9%, resulting successful currency speech losses of 47 cardinal euros.” That was equivalent to $54.5 cardinal astatine the speech complaint connected Thursday.

That sum astir equated to the wide “net result” successful UEFA’s latest yearly accounts of minus-46.2 cardinal euros ($53.6 million) which was financed from its reserves.

Reserves astatine $600 million

The dollar-driven losses chopped UEFA’s reserves to 521.8 cardinal euros ($605 million) astatine the extremity of past June, conscionable supra the 500 cardinal euros level it seeks to support to warrant backing for its 55 subordinate federations and signifier nationalist squad competitions from elder to younker level.

Though UEFA-organized nine events similar the Champions League gain billions each season, a large bulk is paid arsenic prize wealth and does not make profits for the enactment based successful Nyon, Switzerland.

The four-yearly men's European Championship that earned astir 2.5 cardinal euros for the 2024 variation successful Germany fuels UEFA's reserves and main backing programme known arsenic “HatTrick” that pays members treble what they get annually from FIFA.

‘Inevitable’ dollar losses

UEFA said successful the fiscal study it “needs to clasp a large U.S. dollar presumption to backmost outstanding hedge transactions,” and truthful erstwhile the worth started falling a twelvemonth agone “substantial losses were inevitable.”

“The overseas speech effect had been consistently affirmative for respective years, but this unluckily changed successful outpouring 2025 erstwhile the U.S. dollar abruptly weakened for assorted reasons, including economic, marketplace and geopolitical dynamics,” the UEFA papers said.

UEFA acknowledged a “disappointing” result for its plus absorption past twelvemonth compared to a “very exceptional 2023-24,” which was the past afloat fiscal twelvemonth during the erstwhile U.S. administration.