If the planet warms up by 2.7 degrees since the pre-industrial era, and this is the trajectory that we are currently taking according to the UN, football will also be affected.
Matches could no longer be held due to heat, drought or downright flooded stadiums.
However, according to the NGO Carbon Market Watch, the last FIFA World Cup in Qatar would have generated as many CO2 emissions as the Democratic Republic of Congo in one year.
The world of football therefore seems far from awareness.
And yet, the football planet is starting to move and this little wind is reaching us from the other side of the Channel.
Some Premier League clubs, such as Liverpool and Arsenal, have for example installed solar panels and collect rainwater to water lawns.
In fact, since 2019 in England, the NGO Sport Positive Leagues has been ranking Premier League clubs according to 11 sustainability criteria.
With some success.
“Three years ago, nobody was talking about it, explains Caroline Carlin, responsible for sustainable development at Southampton FC.
We didn't realize we were doing nothing until the spotlight was on us.”
The ranking has since been extended to Bundesliga and Ligue 1 clubs.
This awareness is essential, because according to Barney Weston, director of the NGO Football for Future, “calculating your carbon footprint is the first step for clubs wishing to reduce their impact on the environment”.
Yet, at the moment, neither the Premier League nor the British Football Association require clubs to meet environmental standards or even publish their carbon footprint.
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