As the Men's 2026 World Cup kicks off, FIFA continues to present itself as a champion of sustainability, "particularly in relation to climate-related aspects."
But the tournament itself tells a different story.
FIFA is one of the most powerful non-state organizations in the world. Football's global governing body has 211 member associations, more than the United Nations has member states, and oversees one of the most watched sporting events on the planet: the FIFA World Cup. Its financial power is enormous, and rapidly growing. During the 2023–2026 cycle FIFA expects approximately $13 billion in revenue, largely driven by the expanded 2026 World Cup. This is almost twice the revenue of the previous cycle.
Countries compete fiercely to host FIFA tournaments and often change laws, spending priorities, and security arrangements to meet FIFA requirements. Academic analyses of FIFA governance note that FIFA has substantial influence over host-country decision-making and negotiations.
Commitment vs reality
So from a climate and environmental perspective, how is FIFA using all this power? On its website, the organization says it is "committed to enabling sustainable development, particularly in relation to climate-related aspects."
Sounds promising. But how is this commitment playing out in reality?
Let’s look at some stats and research.
According to researchers at the University of Manchester, the 2026 World Cup could become the most polluting in the tournament's history. FIFA has expanded the competition to 48 teams and 104 matches, spread across 16 host cities in three countries spanning an entire continent.
Even before the knockout rounds, some supporters are being pushed into multi-thousand-kilometre itineraries by FIFA’s continent-wide format.
If you, for instance, want to follow Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group stage, the first game is in Toronto; the second in Los Angeles and the third in Seattle. A total distance of more than 5,000 km. Most of these trips will be done by air travel.
Extreme heat
Climate and health are interconnected, and the FIFA World Cup is no exception.
Researchers from Queen's University Belfast have warned that the 2026 World Cup could become one of the hottest ever staged. Their analysis found that 14 of the tournament's 16 venues exceed safety thresholds associated with extreme heat, flooding or heavy rainfall. The researchers warned that dangerous heat conditions could pose serious risks to players, officials and supporters.
The hotter conditions could also affect the individual game. Climate Central has just released an information hub where you can explore how heat could slow down player performance across all of the 2026 World Cup matches — and how climate change is increasing the odds of heat.
As an example, the Japan-Sweden game, to be played in Dallas Stadium on June 24, has a 98% change of performance-imparing heat.
The irony is difficult to ignore. Football's biggest event is helping drive the climate crisis while simultaneously becoming increasingly vulnerable to its consequences.
The host nation amplifies the contradiction. Since the return of the Trump administration, the United States has (again) withdrawn from the Paris Agreement and accelerated support for fossil fuel development while cutting climate research and support for renewable energy. The country hosting the world's largest sporting event is moving in the opposite direction of what climate scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
An oily deal
FIFA's commercial partnerships raise even more questions. In 2024, FIFA signed a four-year partnership agreement with Saudi Aramco, one of the world's largest oil companies and among the biggest corporate contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Just a few weeks before the agreement was signed, Saudi Aramco's CEO Amin Nasser said the current energy transition strategy is failing, and that the world should abandon ”the fantasy” of phasing out oil.
Research from Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) indicates that FIFA’s sponsorship deal with Aramco, the Saudi state-owned oil company, could induce an additional 30 million tonnes of CO2e in 2026 alone.
Climate campaigners condemned the deal as a clear example of sportswashing, arguing that football's global popularity is being used to improve the image of an industry at the heart of the climate crisis.
“FIFA has made elite men’s football the primary target of Petrostate sportswashing. This World Cup, with the ridiculous Trump Peace Prize and having Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest polluter, as its main sponsor, reaches new levels”, said Dr Oscar Berglund, Senior Lecturer in International Public and Social Policy at the University of Bristol, and one of the researchers behind the "Football and Climate Change" study.
And the relationship between FIFA and the fossil fuel industry is only set to deepen. The previous Men’s World Cup was held in Qatar, and in 2034, it will be hosted by Saudi Arabia, a country that has repeatedly been obstructing progress at the annual United Nations Climate conferences while continuing to expand oil production.
Taken together, these decisions paint a troubling picture. FIFA speaks the language of sustainability while embracing business models, sponsors and tournament formats that push emissions in the opposite direction.
In the long run, this will affect the sport as well. In a hotter world, extreme weather events will be more frequent, more fierce, and harder to predict.
In fact, this is evident already today.´
Pitches under water
Across Great Britain, an increasing number of matches are being cancelled because of extreme weather, particularly flooding. According to reporting by the BBC, clubs at all levels of the game are struggling to adapt to more frequent and severe weather events. And this is only the beginning. The UK's Met Office projects that, under a high-emissions scenario, winters could become up to 30% wetter by 2070.
Football is often described as the world's game and a uniting force. It has a unique ability to influence billions of people and billions of dollars. FIFA could use that influence to accelerate climate action, reduce emissions and distance itself from fossil fuel interests.
Instead, the organization is preparing to launch a tournament that may become a symbol of the opposite: a World Cup played in increasingly dangerous heat, sponsored by one of the world's largest oil companies, hosted across a continent in a format that researchers warn could be the most polluting ever.
The games are about to begin.
The climate bill will arrive later.
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