Yesterday wrapped up the Round of 16 which saw England beat Senegal 3-0, meaning our home team will face France in the Quarter Finals. As an environmentalist, however, I’m torn whether this success should be celebrated given the astounding carbon emissions the World Cup is contributing to a planet that is in desperate need of saving.

World football already has a huge carbon footprint, accounting for 0.3%-0.4% of global emissions. With over 5 billion football fans around the world, it should come as no shock that 60% of emissions come from travel.

Other factors that contribute to the sport’s high emissions include stadium waste and the diet of the players, which is predominantly meat-based. However, that’s starting to change, albeit slowly. In recent years, we’ve seen an influx of high profile footballers, such as Hector Bellerin, Chris Smalling and even Lionel Messi, following a vegan diet and attributing their prowess (or “luck”), fitness, and lack of injuries to the diet itself.

Across England, we have seen clubs setting out goals and committing to targets to reduce their carbon footprint with Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton all committing to reduce their emissions by 50% by 2030, with the aim of being net zero by 2040. When you listen to the football industry, it does sound like we are moving towards bigger and better things in sustainability, but if I’m honest, it feels like very slow progress for an industry with so much money.

Sustainability in football seems to have been everywhere this year. It has made me question if some clubs and organisations are going down the dangerous route of greenwashing. Yes FIFA, I’m looking at you…

FIFA has made claims that the World Cup in Qatar will be the first to be "carbon neutral", which is hard to believe when its hosts have the highest CO2 emissions per capita in the world. Following reports that this year’s competition would produce 3.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions — nearly double those from the 2018 tournament in Russia — FIFA and Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy have committed to reducing and offsetting all emissions.

FIFA’s claim to carbon-neutrality has two different systems: the first being that emissions will be mitigated by certain investments made by the organisers, and the second that any leftover emissions (which FIFA estimate as 1.8 million tonnes) will be offset through carbon credits, tallied once the event concludes.

To meet the first system, Qatar created the Global Carbon Council (GCC), which is the only global voluntary GHG offsetting program in the Middle East. It maintains a carbon registry that records, issues, and facilitates the exchange of ‘Approved Carbon Credits’ created to reflect the carbon sequestration benefits that projects submitted for registration have been deemed to have.

This all seems too good to be true, given the construction of 7 new stadiums in 12 years, the air conditioning of those stadiums, 1,791 km of new roads, 207 bridges, 143 tunnels, a new metro line, over 100 hotels, and countless catering venues for the anticipated 1.2 million attendees, not to mention the emissions from fans and their teams travelling to and from the stadiums. It’s estimated that 51.7% of emissions at this World Cup will be caused by travel — including flights, which FIFA have pledged to offset.

Despite these efforts, many people have seen through the haze of greenwash. Researchers have questioned the figure of 3.6 million tonnes and researchers at Lancaster University have said that the true amount of carbon waste is likely to be closer to 10 million tonnes. There have also been a number of consumer protection suits claiming false advertising, including in Switzerland where FIFA is based. It isn’t a surprise that FIFA have drastically underestimated their emissions, when you take into account that aeroplane emission calculations were based on attendees catching a one way flight to Qatar — looks like England aren’t coming home then…

This greenwashing tactic from FIFA is just one of many issues that come as a result of this World Cup. From the lack of human rights and hazardous working conditions for the labour workers who built the stadiums and infrastructure, to the threat of a yellow card to any player that displays their support for the LGBTQ+ community through rainbow armbands. All of the issues that have come to light in the media in recent months are damaging to our communities and our planet — and to the sport that we know and love.

As an industry that pumps out extraordinary profit each year, the billions of football fans across the globe deserve better. It’s about time we start asking questions to our clubs and football organisations to better understand what they are doing to support the future of our people and our planet, and to hold them to account.