How sustainable can a football world cup be?

A football world cup represents a great opportunity for income, development and visibility for the countries that host it. But it also represents a great challenge in terms of planning, investments and sustainability.

For an event of this magnitude to be a success for the host countries and citizens, the authorities in charge of the organisation must ensure the environmental and economic sustainability of infrastructure, transport services, water resources and waste management.

According to the European Union-funded programme LIFE TACKLE, matches across Europe generate, in average, 750 000 tonnes of waste per year. Likewise, concerns are on the rise about the carbon footprint generated by fans traveling to watch their teams play.

Awareness campaigns about the environmental impact that sporting events can have are helping clubs and organisations to think greener and to take climate-neutral measures.

Solar panels on stadium roofs, LED lighting, sustainable heating systems for pitch maintenance, and water cooling in changing rooms and offices are all sustainable innovations that are increasingly being incorporated into smart stadiums, but there is still a long way to go in terms of sustainability in football.

Did you know that a sustainability strategy was developed for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar?

Over the past 10 years, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has strengthened its requirements and programmes related to environmental protection, considering issues like climate change, waste management, recycling, sustainable construction and procurement.

In 2016, FIFA was the first sport federation to join the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework, the objective of which is to gather sports federations, organisations, teams, athletes and fans in a concerted effort to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

This commitment has been translated into concrete actions to protect our planet. In particular, for the tournaments in Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, FIFA took steps to reduce and offset the unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions related to these events and is doing the same for the upcoming edition in Qatar. FIFA and the host country have developed the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Sustainability Strategy, which includes a comprehensive set of initiatives to mitigate the tournament related emissions, including energy efficient stadiums, low emission transportation, and sustainable waste management practices. An online Sustainability Progress Report describes how FIFA and Qatar are delivering against the outlined strategy and highlights the key achievements to deliver a fully carbon-neutral football tournament in 2022 and set a benchmark for environmental stewardship in the region.

Other initiatives

This year, the United Nations has launched the Football for the Goals initiative that seeks to bring together the powerful global football community not only to raise awareness and recognition of the Sustainable Development Goals, but to achieve behavioural change and sustainable practices in the football industry.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), was an inaugural member of this initiative, and has also developed its own sustainability strategy “Strength through Unity” (December, 2021).

Tips for green sport initiatives

For more tips for green infrastructure, mobility and urban development, we invite you to read the EU Greening Facility’s publications:

• Quick tips: Integrating the environment and climate change in infrastructure projects.
• Quick tips: Green mobility: Anchoring environment and climate ambitions in the transport and mobility sector.
• Quick Tips for Green Cities: Integrating Environment and Climate Change Ambitions in Urban Development.