Soccer World Cup at the expense of the environment
Expert dissects FIFA’s sustainability strategy
07/06/2023 11:38 am
FIFA advertises “green stadiums” ahead of the Women’s World Cup. But the massive air traffic puts great strain on the environment. The World Cup is spread over a total of nine cities. Experts are calling for a radical rethink.
The Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand promises to be a tournament of superlatives. More than a million fans are expected in the stadiums, and 32 teams are taking part for the first time. Two host countries are also a first in women’s football history, as is being hosted in the southern hemisphere. But what sounds like a boisterous celebration of women’s football also comes with a big loser: the environment. Although the world governing body FIFA advertises “green stadiums”, experts agree: the tournament at the other end of the world is not sustainable.
“If you hold such a huge event in distant destinations, then of course that results in insane air traffic. It’s simply not sustainable in principle,” says Susanne Becken. She is Professor of Sustainable Tourism at Griffith University in Brisbane. Above all, the expected large crowds of fans around the tournament from July 20th to August 20th will cause problems. Because for many spectators, the journey to the event is anything but environmentally friendly: Anyone who flies from Berlin to Sydney consumes around 4.78 tons of CO₂ emissions. For comparison: The average annual consumption in Germany is 10.8 tons per person.
Up to five hours on the plane
The World Cup is spread across nine cities, including four in New Zealand and five in Australia. In Australia in particular, the distances are enormous: For example, if you want to travel from Brisbane on the east coast to the Western Australian city of Perth, you have to travel over 4,300 kilometers overland. A flight takes between four and five hours. In the group stage, the teams stay in one country, but from the knockout stage they have to fly back and forth between the countries.
At last year’s men’s World Cup in Qatar, FIFA proudly emphasized that all the matches were played in the vicinity of the capital, Doha, and that the journeys were no longer than 75 kilometers. To this end, host country Qatar has invested billions in building new stadiums and improving infrastructure. For its statement that the tournament is climate-neutral, FIFA recently received a reprimand from the Swiss Integrity Commission, the self-regulatory body of the communications industry.
Sustainable stadiums vs. emissions in air traffic
FIFA is now silent on the long journeys and the long distances at the women’s tournament. Instead, the association points out in its sustainability strategy that games are played in existing stadiums, which should “minimise the costs and the impact on the environment”. All ten stadiums have received a so-called “green certificate” from the Green Building Council. This seal is awarded to environmentally friendly buildings that save energy and water and use recycling.
FIFA had declared the certification a sustainability goal for the tournament. “This is a huge step forward that will have an incredible and long-lasting knock-on effect for the staging of major sporting events in the future,” said Sheila Nguyen, the tournament’s sustainability chief, in a statement from FIFA in mid-June. But do sustainable stadiums actually offset the CO₂ emissions of air travel? FIFA writes in its sustainability strategy that football fans should be encouraged to dispose of their waste properly and to think about climate change. “The usual little things” made a difference, says Becken. Nevertheless, these measures are only a “consolation,” judges the sustainability researcher.
“Maybe with Virtual Reality?”
If you really want to make mass events sustainable, the presence of fans in stadiums must be drastically reduced. “You could definitely have technological innovations with which you can still be there live – maybe with virtual reality,” says Becken. “But these are ideas that would revolutionize such key events.” Half or even completely empty stadiums should not initially be met with enthusiasm by most fans.
The plans for the 2026 men’s World Cup also show how far FIFA is from fundamentally and sustainably reorganizing its tournaments. When it comes to long journeys, it even goes one step further: The World Cup is to take place in Canada, the USA and Mexico – for the first time, 48 teams will compete in a total of 16 cities.