New research by environmentalists suggests that next year’s World Cup, in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be “the most climate-damaging” in the history of the tournament.
With Fifa expanding the 2026 World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) has calculated that the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the tournament will almost double the average carbon dioxide equivalent from the last four World Cup finals.
This, claims the report, is driven by the “high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches,” adding that the predicted 2026 total is “equivalent to nearly 6.5 million average British cars being driven for an entire year.”
The figures will make it the most polluting tournament ever staged, with its nine million tonnes of CO2e being significantly higher than the 5.25 million tonnes generated by Qatar 2022.
The number of matches played, in what is the first tournament to be held across an entire continent, will increase by more than 60 per cent from 64 to 104 and, while they will be played in existing stadia, those CO2e figures are much higher than initial estimates.
The report was conducted in collaboration with the Environmental Defence Fund, and the Sport for Climate Action Network.
Fifa has previously committed to reducing emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and to reaching net-zero by 2040. It has said that is has developed and implemented sustainability strategies that have allowed it “to be aware of its impact and take adequate action”.
“As a result, on the environmental side, greenhouse gas emissions have been assessed and mitigated, waste has been substantially reduced and tonnes of material have been recycled and diverted from landfill, and stadium construction and operations have been certified according to green building standards,” Fifa has claimed.
However, a Swiss regulator ruled in 2023 that the governing body made “unsubstantiated claims” about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
