The 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup could become the most polluting tournament of its kind in history, a group of NGOs warns in a report.
This year’s World Cup, set to begin in June and draw an international audience in the billions, will likely generate about 9 million metric tons of climate-warming emissions, according to an analysis led by the U.K.-based Scientists for Global Responsibility. That’s nearly double the amount associated with other recent World Cups – and comparable to the annual emissions of about 6 million British cars, the estimate found.
According to the authors, the main driver behind that increase is the massive expansion of air travel compared to previous tournaments.
This year’s World Cup will be the largest in the tournament’s history, with 48 national teams and 104 matches, compared to the 32 teams and 64 games in previous editions. The matches are expected to take place in three different countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Because host cities will be spread across this vast territory, teams, officials, and fans are expected to rely far more on long-distance air travel between venues than in recent tournaments, such as the 2022 World Cup, which took place only in Qatar.
At that tournament, stadiums were located relatively close to each other, connected by metro and buses – including a fleet with electric units – and even accessible on foot in some cases, said Sergio Levinsky in Spanish by phone from Spain. Levinsky is a journalist and sociologist who writes about international soccer.
That compact model reduced long-distance travel and dependence on air transport, a scenario that contrasts sharply with the 2026 World Cup.
“This World Cup will be a World Cup of airplanes, with very long distances and many problems,” Levinsky said.
Alejandro Changeur, a soccer fan living in Ottawa, follows the World Cup passionately but with a growing environmental awareness.
“I love soccer and the World Cup is something you look forward to for years, but I can’t ignore the impact it has,” he said in Spanish. “I try to do everything within my reach as a citizen to reduce my environmental footprint, and that forces you to ask yourself to what extent these events are compatible with caring for nature.”
For Changeur, choosing to follow the tournament on television – though he acknowledges it’s not the same – is a way to reduce his environmental impact.
What FIFA proposes to reduce the environmental impact of the 2026 World Cup
FIFA, the organization that governs the sport of soccer, has released a sustainability plan aimed at reducing the World Cup’s environmental impact. The strategy includes measuring the tournament’s emissions, encouraging renewable energy projects and the use of low-emissions vehicles at tournament sites, and encouraging optimization of air and ground routes to reduce unnecessary travel.
In Houston, for example, the 2026 World Cup host committee has committed to supplying the tournament’s main official sites with 100% renewable electricity and to implementing energy efficiency measures. In Atlanta, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium – another tournament venue – operates on renewable energy and has more than 4,000 solar panels installed on the premises.
And Lumen Field in Seattle diverts between 90% and 95% of waste from landfills through recycling and composting – efforts the city says it plans to expand during the tournament.
But not all host cities have the infrastructure needed to fully meet these commitments.
“Texas does not have good infrastructure when it comes to public transportation. I would say that 90% of the population depends on their own vehicles or Uber. I don’t see how FIFA can do anything to mitigate this,” said José Manuel Febres, an engineer and avid soccer fan who lives in Texas and plans to attend several matches there, speaking by phone in Spanish.
Yale Climate Connections requested comment from FIFA but received no response before publication.
Ricardo Setyon, an international journalist specializing in soccer, said the onus is on the cities themselves to meet sustainability goals: “It doesn’t depend on FIFA or the organizing committee for cities to take initiative.”
