The England team will emit about 154 times the average UK resident’s yearly carbon footprint if they reach the World Cup final. This is the finding of new research which analyses the projected emissions from the team’s flights to each potential match.
The research comes from Scientists for Global Responsibility, Fossil Free Football and Stay Grounded. It gives a glimpse into the huge impact of air traffic emissions associated with the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Dr Stuart Parkinson, climate scientist and executive director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, said:
The huge carbon emissions generated by the England team during this tournament again demonstrates just how polluting the World Cup has become.
The new 48-team, 104-match format has led to an event sprawling across an entire continent causing vast amounts of air travel that is further fuelling the climate crisis.
As the Paris climate target is about to be breached, this elite sporting event is setting a very poor example to the world.
Peter Crisp, from Fossil Free Football, said:
Football players and fans know that there’s no game without a safe place to play. But there’s a direct line between the World Cup’s massive pollution and the dangerous extreme weather impacting the tournament. It’s time for FIFA to get serious about protecting the game from climate change.
Hannah Lawrence, Stay Grounded spokesperson, said:
This is another example of how the World Cup is flying us even further to the brink of climate breakdown. Football for the people would preserve the game for fans and future generations, not burn up the planet. We need an end to deadly mega-events and an urgent reduction of flights.
If they reach the World Cup final by the most likely route Thomas Tuchel’s squad could travel around 39,000km (24,200 miles) by plane. They’d be spending approximately 52.5 hours in the air, and emitting approximately 866 tonnes CO2e. This is about 154 times the emissions of the average UK resident who is currently responsible for 5.6 tCO2e annually.
Most polluting World Cup ever
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is projected to directly generate over 9m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e). This makes it the most polluting in the tournament’s history. Approximately 7.7m tonnes of that total will come from flights as the tournament takes place across North America’s three largest countries: Canada, Mexico, and the US.
The 9m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent doesn’t account for the climate wrecking impact of FIFA’s sponsorship deals with high carbon companies.
In 2024, FIFA signed a four-year deal with Saudi-energy company Aramco. It’s the largest oil and gas producer and the largest corporate greenhouse gas emitter on Earth. FIFA also has major deals with airlines, Qatar Airways and American Airlines.
The total emissions figure for the England team during the World Cup was calculated based on:
- The kilometre distance of all flights by the England team (using the Flightradar24 website).
- The relevant specifications of the plane used for each flight.
- Standard greenhouse gas emission conversion factors for aviation fuel.
- All flights are private charter, with an Airbus A220 the most commonly used.
- A long-range Airbus A350 takes care of the UK legs.
Featured image via the Canary
By The Canary
