TOPSHOT - Dancers perform as fireworks are fired during the opening ceremony of the UEFA Euro 2024 ... [+]
Train travel has been at the heart of Euro 2024. From Gelsenkirchen to Leipzig, hundreds of thousands of supporters have crisscrossed Germany although Deutsche Bahn, an official sponsor, often caused despair. Following the example of Euro 2008, the tournament has relied in large parts on public transport and European soccer governing body Uefa has claimed this European championship is the greenest ever. At stadiums, even vegan food was sold.
Every major tournament comes with a built-in carbon footprint, but Uefa highlighted adapted match schedules, smart mobility solutions, carbon footprint measurements, and the creation of a climate fund to offset carbon emissions as part of its sustainability measures. In a recent report, the environmental think tank Öko-Institute estimated that by the end of Euro 2024, the tournament will have generated approximately 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). Impacted by COVID-19, Euro 2020 generated 218,000 tonnes of CO2, according to the Uefa Respect Report. The European governing body has allocated €7 million to a climate fund and climate protection projects.
Yet, Uefa’s claim of staging the greenest tournament ever is undermined by its reliance on sponsorship money from fossil fuel industries, the co-hosting formats of future European championships, and the expansion of its club competitions.
Visit Qatar and Coca-Cola are among Euro 2024’s top-tier sponsors. A petrostate, Qatar has long encouraged long-distance travel to consolidate its status as a regional transport hub. On the day of Euro 2024’s opening match between the host nation and Scotland, Uefa renewed its sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways. Coca-Cola has blocked action to cut plastic pollution.
Soccer has long nurtured a relationship of dependency on polluting industries. Chevron, Shell, Castrol, and Petrobras have sponsored major competitions and clubs. A recent report by Fossil Free Football, a Netherlands-based activist group, highlights that the industry’s presence remains strong and extends to national teams. At Euro 2024, car manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen sponsored the national teams of the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Italy, and Germany.
Energy giant ENI has a deal with the Squadra Azzurra. In court, ENI was recently accused of “using lobbying and greenwashing” to expand fossil fuels despite understanding the consequences for the climate as early as 1970. In its sustainability strategy, the Italian FA (FIGC) outlines a 2030 target to “reduce the carbon footprint produced by football activities in Italy and Europe and become a credible partner of reference for environmental organizations,” but it failed to respond to questions for this article, in particular, whether FIGC will move away from fossil fuel sponsors in the future.
Drawing a parallel with the tobacco industry, Peter Crisp of Fossil Free Football said: "It was a normal thing to see in sports. Then, slowly, over time, there was a consensus that tobacco was a harmful thing, that it was anti-social, and that it was not right for it to be advertised in sports. They banned that kind of tobacco sponsorship, and in doing so, improved the lives of many, many people.”
“The vast majority of people accept that the pollution that's causing climate change is harmful and anti-social and is going to do us damage today and into the future. Why do we accept that we have that pollution promoted to billions of people, having fossil fuel pollution thrown into your face?”
Italy will co-host Euro 2032 with Turkey. Uefa has dug itself a hole. The last European championship was played from London to Baku in Azerbaijan in a pan-European format across eleven countries. The United Kingdom and Ireland will host Euro 2028, Euro 2032 will also be co-hosted. Referring to its environmental, social and governance strategy, Uefa said, “For the 2028 and 2032 editions, sustainability will also be integrated into the core of our operations.”
The lust for largesse, and ultimately commercial revenue, doesn’t end there. Uefa and soccer’s carbon footprint will increase further because of an extra 177 fixtures across its club competitions. Last year, a BBC study estimated that teams and fans will travel an extra 463 million air miles a year to attend European games as of the 2024-25 season.
Crisp believes that Euro 2024 can serve as a mark to hold Uefa accountable in the future. He said: "There are some small signs that they are starting to take responsibility for fan travel. My perception is that that has been at the direction of the German organizers rather than Uefa.They have kind of put themselves in a position where it's easy to criticize what they are doing in the future when they're scheduling many more matches and scheduling matches all around Europe that require huge amounts of travel and huge amounts of pollution from the fans.”
