Words by Jesse Wise, Dr Briony Latter & Dr Sam Hampton
July 13, 2026
After intervention from Trump in FIFA’s recent decision to effectively overturn a red card given to the US’s star player, political interference has now been added to the renewed criticisms levelled against FIFA. How can football maintain climate action when institutions don’t offer credible leadership?
Sports and climate change are inextricably linked. Whether it’s extreme weather impacting matches or the emissions associated with modern sporting events, the relationship between sport and climate is becoming increasingly apparent. Last year, 120,000 grassroots football games in the UK were cancelled due to flooding and this is only expected to worsen.
Our societies will need to transform to address climate change. This includes radically decarbonising sports, with people at all levels—organisations, teams, players, and fans— playing important roles in making more sustainable choices. But these choices don’t occur in a vacuum. How can a player choose plant-based food options on match day if they’re not provided by the stadium? How can a football fan swap their car for a bus if there’s no bus stop nearby? How is it possible to advocate for change in the face of powerful structural forces?
Individuals play a key role in climate action but the choices available are often determined by the institutions around us and the choices they have made. Research shows that 68% of the emissions from a football match come from fan travel. With FIFA’s decision to hold the 2026 World Cup across 16 different cities in three countries, this will inevitably increase long distance travel and ultimately—in a region with poor rail connections—emissions. Partly, this choice arose from the sheer number of teams competing in this tournament (the largest ever), but more games mean more viewership. These choices make it not only the most lucrative but also the most polluting sports event to date.
These choices are not neutral. FIFA claims their new addition of hydration breaks is about player welfare in warmer conditions, but heat researcher Dr Harry Brown suggests breaks appear to be tied to advertising incomes rather than optimal cooling practice. Fans appear to have noticed, with many booing the breaks. FIFA’s choices are concerning but not just for the World Cup, as Brown writes, “global sport sets the tone”. Not only is sport impacted by climate change and increases emissions, but sport also has an influential platform. If there is an absence of good leadership, how can teams, players and fans increase climate action?
Encourage change from within elite sport
If FIFA were to turn over a green leaf, it might be tempting to call out their hypocrisy. In Dr Michael Hallsworth’s book The Hypocrisy Trap, he suggests that people judge the hypocrisy of companies the same way they judge other people, and that this can prevent change for the better. Our brains are very sensitive to hypocrisy as it was evolutionarily beneficial to be vigilant to inconsistencies that benefited others unfairly. In the interests of making progress on climate action, it might be time to quiet this signal and recognise that reality might be more complex. Hallsworth suggests people give organisations even less leeway than individuals, yet inconsistency is sometimes unavoidable.
Bad-faith deception should be called out, but to see change, people might need to be more forgiving as organisations navigate the conflicting demands of business models, stakeholders, and environmental constraints. Sportspeople and those working in sports organisations themselves have said that the fear of hypocrisy is a barrier to climate action, so it is important to find ways to overcome this.
It’s easy to think of institutions like FIFA as a single actor resistant to change. In reality, they are comprised of many people with their own mix of concern, knowledge, and capabilities. Individuals often need support to take climate action and push for change within organisations. Others may be on the fence or just starting their climate journey, grappling with cognitive dissonance – the discomfort people feel when action, belief or values contradict one another.
Research suggests that the easiest way to resolve this is often for individuals to change their minds (i.e., deny climate change) rather than change their job. With enough pressure, these individuals may face a difficult decision; do they climate quit or try to create change from within? Ultimately, this is a deeply personal choice, but institutional change can require action from people both inside and outside the system. Institutional change is difficult but essential. Better leadership needs support from those willing to challenge the status quo, wherever they happen to be.
Create change elsewhere in the sector
Institutional change is difficult, but there are opportunities for other parts of the sector to act, which may apply pressure on elite sport. If leadership from FIFA isn’t seen as forthcoming, grassroots football can help to set the tone. Although grassroots sport in England emits just a fraction (1%) of global sport emissions, grassroots clubs are dealing with extreme weather and related financial impacts (just under £320 million annually). This makes climate change an important topic for people within grassroots sport to speak out about and act upon. Research into grassroots sport in Scotland has found that clubs have the potential to act as trusted messengers to engage people with climate resilience and risks. This may be particularly relevant given the ‘climate silence’ prior CAST research found within football clubs.
Climate Outreach and Pledgeball have teamed up to deliver a three-year project that will support six English sports clubs to become community climate hubs. CAST, led by Jesse Wise, will evaluate the project’s success in leading sustainable behaviour change in the community. While initiatives like this cannot replace the need for leadership from governing bodies, they demonstrate that climate action doesn’t have to wait for them. Building support at a grassroots level can help create bottom-up pressure for stronger action in the sector. Community football can play an important role in shaping culture and expectations that bigger leagues may not be able to ignore.
Action from fans and envisaging the future
To protect the beautiful game, how people travel, eat, heat and shop will need to change. Recent work by CAST researchers highlights the multiple roles that people have in taking climate action. While some of these choices might be limited on match days, fans have the power to act elsewhere in their lives. Across football and the wider sports and outdoor community, charities and groups like We Play Green, Pledgeball, Protect Our Winters and The Green Runners help people to make more sustainable choices as well as pressing for wider systemic change.
For teams and players, these roles are likely to be different. Research led by Dr Briony Latter in CAST in collaboration with Pledgeball involved athletes themselves thinking about the future of sport in the context of climate change. We found that athletes currently face many structural barriers to climate action and creating a positive future for their sports but there are ways to overcome them. This includes athletes using their influence, both athletes and organisations leading by example, and climate action at an organisational level. The research helped to provide insights for the sports sector about athlete climate action as well as what is needed at an organisational level.
It’s easy to feel despondent and disillusioned when those with power are seen as failing to use it for good, but indifference inhibits action. Anger is a natural response to injustice and it is strongly linked to climate activism, while hope can lead to behaviour change. So, if you find yourself frustrated at the next hydration break, channel it towards climate action. Leadership is not just for large institutions; progress has always depended on people who care and continue to push for change. Climate action is needed across society at all different levels and whether you are a fan, involved in grassroots football or an elite player, everyone has an important role to play in asking for the leaders we need.
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