Football is not an exception to the global concern of climate change. Within the next three decades, about 25% of England’s 92 league clubs may experience frequent flooding, while the country’s average grassroots pitch now experiences five weather-related absences every season. With an estimated global carbon footprint that is, at the low end of projections, the size of Tunisia, sport also plays a substantial role in climate change. Scroll down to read Football And Climate Change: How To Make Football More Sustainable.
Football and Climate Change:
How To Make Football More Sustainable
Asking supporters to lessen their carbon footprint may be alluring, but how can we utilize public transportation on matchdays when it’s sometimes too costly and occasionally unavailable? The FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Liverpool had no trains traveling from the northwest to Wembley. To accommodate 5,000 spectators, the FA supplied 100 buses.
Meatless choices have their advantages, but they’re only temporary fixes as long as stadium lighting and pie heating don’t come from nonrenewable sources of energy. While striving for better is necessary, expecting perfection is counterproductive.
We anticipated that environmental sustainability would be recognized when the government announced a fan-led review of English football governance, titled “Securing the game’s future.” The British public’s concern for the environment is at an all-time high, according to a recent YouGov survey, despite the lack of information about the connection between football and climate change.
In the context of the difficulties facing English football, the fan-led assessment refers to financial sustainability as “clearly the single most important factor”; nevertheless, it makes no mention of environmental sustainability or climate change.
English football is financially vulnerable to climate change. Just ask Carlisle, who had to pay over £3 million to have their stadium evacuated for seven weeks due to Storm Desmond. Since then, the club’s CEO, Nigel Clibbens, has taken a proactive stance in favor of action, recently citing research indicating that climate change increased the likelihood of Desmond’s death by 59%.
But there’s a huge opportunity when it comes to environmental sustainability in English football. By getting rid of energy inefficiencies and upgrading to environmentally friendly infrastructure, clubs can save money. They may also draw in unusual sponsors, which is another alluring source of money. You need to look no further for proof than Forest Green Rovers, who were just elevated to League One and recognized by the UN as “the world’s most sustainable club.”
The government has now promised to release a white paper in the summer that will outline its strategy for carrying out the ten suggestions made in the fan-led study. The relationship between environmental and financial sustainability has to be covered in the white paper. Equality, diversity, and inclusion, according to the assessment, “should form a strong pillar of good corporate governance.”
Why are we unable to approach environmental sustainability with the same mindset? Let’s request that clubs create action plans about environmental sustainability and that an impartial football regulator oversee and instruct clubs on how to achieve greater environmental sustainability.
It would be consistent with the suggestion made by the fan-led review to “improve supporter engagement in the running of their clubs.” More than 90% of 1,400 football fans who participated in a recent survey believed that combating climate change and preserving the environment is important.
With this in mind, the Football Supporters Association (FSA), a significant contributor to the fan-led study, has taken action. They have teamed up with Pledgeball, an organization that mobilizes football fans to address climate change. The FSA established a goal at their most recent AGM for all clubs to create and publish sustainability policies as well as ask outside assessors to evaluate their environmental performance before the new season begins. Could the government facilitate the public release of club sustainability policies and comprehensive carbon footprints? Without public records, supporters cannot hold their clubs responsible.
Managing directors and owners can also aid in combating climate change. In addition to having the potential to uncover inappropriate candidates, a new owners’ and directors’ exam may also reveal more qualified candidates who have a track record of integrating environmental sustainability into organizational culture. In addition to addressing the bottom-up efforts of club employees who are already worried about climate change and making attempts to address it in their daily work, a top-down strategy could counter the threat that climate change poses to English football.
When these initiatives are combined, English football may be able to fully address climate change. As our national sport leads the way toward a global net-zero carbon future, it will inspire other sports and sectors to follow suit. Let us incorporate the recommendations regarding climate change from the fan-led review into the white paper. We’re in “Fergie time” when it comes to making the required changes, but it’s not too late.
