Experts warn of carbon impact from 2030 FIFA World Cup

December 10, 2024 (MLN): Environmental experts have voiced concerns about the carbon footprint generated by the logistics involved in the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will span three continents. 

The expanded geographic scope of the tournament raises questions about the environmental impact, particularly in terms of increased travel and greenhouse gas emissions, as APP reported.

Guillaume Gouze, of the Centre of Sports Law and Economics at the University of Limoges, APP said "moral responsibility" to integrate climate concerns into its tournament plans. 

Instead, he said, it had proposed World Cups that are an "ecological aberration".

Benja Faecks of Carbon Market Watch told AFP that greenwashing and "sportswashing" in sports are becoming increasingly difficult.

Academics and campaigners are now holding organizations to account.

But she said that the 2030 tournament was "an unfortunate geographic choice".

When an event is spread over sites thousands of kilometers apart, teams and potentially hundreds of thousands of their loyal fans have to travel by plane.

The three matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are to mark the 100th anniversary of the event, which was born in Montevideo. 

FIFA is keen to support access to football across different parts of the world, said David Gogishvili, a researcher at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

But "it is a crazy idea in terms of the impact this choice will have on the planet", he added. 

FIFA has already expanded participation in the competition, which will see 48 teams take part in the 2026 edition held in Mexico, the United States, and Canada compared to 32 in 2022. 

This "is almost worse than the Cup on three continents," says Aurelien Francois, who teaches sports management at the University of Rouen in France.

More teams mean more fans wanting to visit the venues, more capacity needed in the hotel and catering sector, and more waste, among other issues.

FIFA says that, "For 101 games, the tournament will be played in a footprint of neighboring countries in close geographic proximity."

"These countries have extensive and well-developed transport links and infrastructure.", FIFA further noted.

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