An unprecedented action-based footballing initiative has launched with 44 leading women's stars committing to take responsibility for their carbon footprint this summer.
Facilitated by Common Goal – the social and environmental collective movement in global football – and UK-based climate advocacy group Football For Future, the likes of Danish international Sofie Junge Pedersen, Canadian midfielder Jessie Fleming, and Italian defender Elena Linari have all committed to offset the impact of flying Down Under for the Women's World Cup this summer.
The initiative was created by Pedersen who wanted to create a meaningful method for players to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of travelling to Australia and New Zealand – with the campaign looking to inspire everyone in football to do their bit in tackling climate change. A key policy objective, too, is to challenge governing bodies to make carbon a key criterion in the bidding process for tournaments.
“I want to ensure my World Cup experience has a positive environmental legacy,” former Juventus star Pedersen said. “Climate change is the biggest issue humanity faces, and I want to be part of the solution. While there are no current sustainable solutions to aviation, as players we are setting an example, and taking a tangible step in the right direction.”
“This is a topic I feel passionate about, and I hope this action my teammates and I are taking accelerates the climate conversation and sets a precedent for what athletes can do to push for more environmental policies in football,” Jessie Fleming, of Chelsea and Canada, added.
“Common Goal aims to inspire every part of football’s ecosystem to collaborate towards an equal and sustainable future,” Common Goal’s Sustainability and Environmental Lead, Jeremy Houssin, said. “Increasingly the new generation of players, coaches, fans, club owners and football administrators are all looking for ways to integrate environmental action at every level of the sport, and we are empowering collective action enabling this to happen, while accelerating the conversation on environment in football.
“This is an inspirational precedent for player-led climate advocacy that will grow across future tournaments as we head towards 2030. This is just the start and we invite athletes of all genders, institutions and nations hosting major tournaments to integrate environmental responsibility at the core of their operations.”
Find out more at FootballForFuture.org and Common-Goal.org
