How can football de-carbonize?
The great rethink of our time is upon us. The coronavirus combatting changes will stay with us after the virus is beaten. Yet social distancing, online meetings, and everything else must not be the only culture change COVID-19 causes. The climate crisis is here, and the world must use this chance to alter our ways with a green tint. The world means everyone, and that means football. The time has come for football to take a hard look at its environmental impact.
The virus has already shown us the first and easiest way for football to cut down on carbon; travel. It’s perhaps the most vital part of the game, but it's also the worst for the environment. Through just their flights, the top 20 nominees for the 2019 Ballon D’Or produced over 500 tons of carbon. Now multiply that by the gazillions of flights professional players across the world take every year. Add in thousands of fans and things don’t look pretty.
The 2018 Champions League final was held in Kiev between Liverpool and Real Madrid, with 61 thousand fans attending. How many were from Ukraine? How many would have flown from countries in Western Europe for only a single game, spewing thousands of tons of carbon into the air?
The simple fact is fans will follow football. So it falls to those at the top to ensure the majority don’t have to travel far. This would not only be more convenient but would also be better for the environment.
And yet Euro 2021 exists. In some parallel universe where COVID-19 abides enough so games can be played live, fans and players will be traveling from London to Baku to Istanbul to Saint Petersburg and Bilbao. Even if the tournament is played in empty stadiums, the teams’ travel remains unacceptable in environmental costs. The lack of a host for the Euros was a dumb idea to begin with, but the environmental damage it will cause makes it a pure idiocy.
So what can be done? What’s the solution? Well, it’s obvious. Travel less.
In the 2019 Europa League, Manchester United and Astana were drawn together in the same group. Two teams on different continents ending up together is unacceptable. No more. The AFC Champions League provides a template here, with teams in that competition already being grouped into East and West zones, and it’s something confederation competitions should mimic.
In a similar vein, nations leagues are the way to go. No more flying across the world to play a single friendly. Trans-continental games should only happen when required, such as the world cup play-offs. This does put isolated nations at a disadvantage, but if we didn’t want that to happen then we should have dealt with climate change when we had the chance.
These are two things football can do to reduce its carbon output, but such things are only a drop in a warming ocean. This is where football’s immense social capital comes into play. Football is the most popular sport in the world, hence it has the most potential to make a positive social difference. So let’s put it to use. Reduce carbon in ways both individuals and industries can replicate. Use the platform to promote the worthwhile causes, and do more than just raise awareness - everyone is very much aware of climate change - provide concrete links for people to help and don’t leave it all to the fans, contribute yourselves as well.
Lastly, make sure football’s partners are carbon ethical. Don’t allow complicit organisations to sportswash. Name, shame, and don’t take money from them. Football’s immense social potential must be used in the right way. At this critical juncture, we cannot misuse what we have.
It’s so easy to be a free rider. It’s the strategy so many organisations and countries have chosen to adopt. Football can be different. Football must be different.