FIFA fo fum – Magical thinking will not solve World Cup’s giant climate problem
With the 2026 World Cup, FIFA, football’s governing body, is scoring poorly for the climate and has even netted a few own goals.
With the 2026 World Cup, FIFA, football’s governing body, is scoring poorly for the climate and has even netted a few own goals.
Despite its talk of making the World Cups climate friendly, FIFA is clearly following the money, whether it is from wealthy and polluting corporate sponsors or countries with questionable human rights and sustainability credentials.
In response to a complaint lodged by civil society, the Swiss advertising regulator has ordered FIFA, football’s governing body, to stop describing the 2022 World Cup as “carbon neutral” because the claim is “false and misleading”. This anti-greenwashing victory has worldwide implications for mega-sporting events, corporations and lawmakers.
La présente plainte porte sur la publicité de « neutralité carbone », par la FIFA, de la Coupe du Monde de Football 2022 au Qatar. Nous jugeons que cette communication par la FIFA constitue une publicité envers le public, qu’elle est trompeuse et fausse, et qu’elle enfreint les règles et codes du Jury d’Ethique Publicitaire …
La présente plainte porte sur la publicité de « neutralité carbone », par la FIFA, de la Coupe du Monde de Football 2022 au Qatar. Nous jugeons que cette communication par la FIFA constitue une publicité envers le public, qu’elle est trompeuse et fausse, et qu’elle enfreint les règles et codes du Jury d’Ethique Publicitaire …
The FIFA World Cup in Qatar advertises itself as the first carbon-neutral tournament of its kind. Our latest research casts serious doubt on this claim, suggesting that this goal will be achieved through creative accounting rather than actually reaching a carbon footprint of (net) zero.