[Saba Sports News] According to Italian media reports, the ongoing World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico has set a new record, becoming the most polluting World Cup in history. Estimates by Greenly show the tournament will generate around 7.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, roughly 2.1 times the official total recorded at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The core difference lies in the composition of these emissions. Qatar built seven stadiums from scratch, leading to substantial carbon output linked to infrastructure construction. By contrast, the newly opened tournament makes use of existing venues, with infrastructure accounting for merely 3% of total emissions. Instead, spectator travel contributes about 87% of the overall carbon footprint. Fans have to travel across three North American countries to watch matches, resulting in a far longer average travel distance compared with the Qatar World Cup.
The editor believes that this not only exacerbates the tournament’s impact on the climate crisis, but also reveals a huge gap between FIFA’s climate pledges and the actual event planning.