Organising Committee of 2025 European University Handball Championship Plants 5,000 Trees for a Greener Championship

On 22 March, the Organising Committee of the 2025 European University Handball Championship was present in the community of Verdelhos to launch a major reforestation initiative, planting 5,000 native trees.

This effort aims to create a more resilient forest in one of the areas most affected by the devastating forest fire that ravaged the Serra da Estrela region in 2022. From 22 to 28 July, Covilhã will host the European University Handball Championship, with 24 teams from different European countries.

As part of its commitment to ensuring the event's carbon neutrality, the Organising Committee has calculated that 5,000 trees will be needed to offset the CO₂ emissions generated by all the delegations' travel to Covilhã. To achieve this goal, the Organising Committee made a donation to the Baldios de Verdelhos, not only to promote the sustainability of the event, but also to reinforce its social responsibility towards the Covilhã region.

This initiative is actively contributing to the recovery of one of the areas most affected by the 2022 Serra da Estrela forest fire, helping to restore biodiversity and protect the local ecosystem. Despite adverse weather conditions, the reforestation effort on March 22 marked an important first step.

The event was attended by Arménio Coelho (FADU), Hélio Fazendeiro (CMC) and Afonso Gomes (UBI Student Ombudsman). On this occasion, the Organising Committee reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable practices and to the long-term positive impact that the event aims to leave in the region.

In this way, the Covilhã 2025 European University Handball Championship Organising Committee is ensuring that the event will not only be a celebration of sport, but also an opportunity to demonstrate how sport and sustainability can cooperate.