As the start of the biggest sporting event on the planet approaches, a shadow hangs over the 2026 edition. Could it be the most polluting edition ever organized? We tell you about it…
The kick-off of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be given this Thursday June 11, 2026. The event will end on July 19. Organized jointly by the UNITED STATESTHE Canada and the Mexicothis tournament promises to be impressive, but also holder of a sad record: a carbon footprint never reached in the history of sport.
Excess in a world of climate change
The experts’ findings are clear. Several studies estimate that the 2026 World Cup will emit around 9 million tonnes of CO2. The upper range is even estimated at 15 million tonnes. To measure the scale of this ecological disaster, this volume represents more than double the edition’s emissions 2022 At Qatar (4 million tonnes), yet widely criticized at the time for the construction of its air-conditioned stadiums. It is also equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of four million round trips Paris-New York by plane.
How can we explain such an explosion in meters? The answer can be summed up in two words: expansion and geography. For this edition, the FIFA increased the number of participating teams from 32 to 48. This consequently increases the total number of matches to 104, spread across three host countries. Even if, unlike the edition of Qatarno stadium was built from scratch exclusively for the event, we still renovated around ten cities for the occasion.
Air transport: the big culprit
Unlike the World Cup in Qatar where the stadiums were grouped within a radius of a few dozen rather accessible kilometers, the edition 2026 spans three different countries, and moreover in cities with little or no train connection. Thus, most plane trips are planned.
The logistics imposed on the teams sometimes turn into geographical absurdity. For example, the team of Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to make trips between Toronto, Los Angeles And Seattleaccumulating more than 9,000 km of domestic flights. To defend itself, the FIFA puts forward a weighty argument: the absence of major projects, mentioned above.
Note also that the FIFA signed a partnership with the Saudi oil company Aramcothe most polluting company on the planet. According to studies, this was responsible for more than 3% of global CO2 emissions in 2023.
An unsustainable model in the face of the climate emergency
Faced with these alarming forecasts, pressure from environmental organizations is increasing on FIFA. In 2021during the COP26the governing body of world football had nevertheless committed to reducing its emissions by 50% by 2030and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. It is clear that the choice of an expanded format and continental dispersion runs counter to these promises.
Beyond the numbers, the athletes themselves will be the first to suffer the effects of this disruption. Climatologists predict that 97 of the 104 matches will experience higher temperaturess at 28°C in June and July. This would obviously threaten the health of the players on the pitch as well as that of the supporters in the stands. Finally, several non-air-conditioned stadiums, such as Miami, Kansas Cityor even new Yorkpromise complicated matches to play and support.
By favoring the commercial to the detriment of the ecological, the 2026 World Cup is already a major climatic aberration. It poses a crucial question for the future: can sport continue to ignore the limits of the planet? Without a total reinvention of the model, involving restricted geographical areas and compulsory railway networks for example, football risks contributing more than anything to humanity losing the fight against the global warming that it itself causes.
