Launch Football4Climate

On Monday, May 25th, Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI) launched Football4Climate, a programme that seeks to leverage the power of football to drive climate awareness and action amongst the wider football industry. A virtual gathering of football fans from 39 different clubs and 21 different countries, discussed the implications of climate change on football with an emphasis on the professional level and the players’ on-field perspectives.

Three active professional footballer players, Arianna Criscione (Paris Saint-Germain), Morten Thorsby (Sampdoria) and Sofie Junge Pedersen (Juventus) shared their first- hand experiences training and playing in challenging conditions which can be attributed to climate change. Expanding on these experiences, they offered unique insights about how these climate change implications and to what level are addressed or not within teams and management and in some cases, how clubs are taking steps towards climate action.

The discussion was moderated by historian and football expert David Goldblatt who introduced the conversation with a summary of his recent research on football’s relationship to climate change.

David Goldblatt: “Football like every other social, economic, culture pho needs to be taking climate change seriously. This is the moment (football pages and sport pages are empty) and sport is in a reflective mood, this great pause, this pandemic has forced us to rethink how sport works, why it matters to us and where we might go in the future.”

“Climate change is coming to us and indeed, is with us now. Temperature increases, drought, extreme weather, increased precipitation, sea rise levels, land loss. Where will sport be in 2050 in terms of sea rising? In the Netherlands, half of the top division football stadiums will be underwater or regularly flooded. In England, 23 of the 92 stadiums in the English football league will be suffering at the very least from annual partial flooding.”

In a moderated discussion, players shared their personal experiences and responded to questions from the audience on the need to change their personal lifestyle as players, the opportunity of influencing young players and changing grassroots football, and the reactions they receive when speaking up as football player.

“The SandSI Football4Climate programme can impact both clubs, players and others towards a more sustainable industry and use the popularity of football to raise awareness amongst millions of football fans.”

Morten Thorsby, Midfielder Sampdoria

“We should not blame people for not speaking up about climate action, but it is important to be open and to get people talking about it. If we get people to talking about it, this is where we will see change. Let’s engage as players in the discussion and allow people’s voices to be heard.”

Arianna Criscione, Goalkeeper Paris Saint-Germain & Sponsorships Manager PSG Women’s Team

“I have first-hand experience with the impact an athlete can have on youth in social projects. We should use this and take our responsibility as players to address climate action in grassroots football and educate youth players on this.”

Sofie Junge Pedersen, Midfielder Juventus

The Football4Climate Fan Club was launched to encourage fans to sign up as climate champions of their favourite football club. Geert Hendriks, Chief Executive Officer Sport and Sustainability International, explains: “Sport represents less than 1% of the world's carbon on largest estimates but 43% of the global population are football fans. The Football4Climate Fan Club gives a massive opportunity to address 99% of the world’s carbon by leveraging the social and economic power of football”

Football4Climate fans pledge to (1) find out and speak with other fans about the climate actions of their favourite club and (2) lead by example through reducing their personal carbon footprint. The website provides fans with an official letter (multiple languages) to be sent to their club as well as a personal carbon calculator.

A ranking of football clubs with the most Football4Climate fans will be published monthly.

More information: www.football4climate.org / #Football4Climate