As football fans pour into stadiums across the United States, Canada and Mexico for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, environmental experts are watching a very different scoreboard.
The expanded tournament, featuring 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities, is projected to become the most carbon-intensive World Cup ever staged. While Fifa has unveiled its most ambitious sustainability programme to date, critics argue that the unprecedented scale of the event could overwhelm many of those environmental gains.
Independent assessments estimate the tournament could generate nearly 7.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) more than double the emissions officially reported for Qatar 2022 and significantly higher than any previous edition.
The figure would not only represent a World Cup record; it would place the tournament among the most polluting sporting events ever organised.
Environmental price
The biggest factor behind the projected emissions surge is simple: growth.
For the first time in history, the World Cup has expanded from 32 to 48 teams, increasing the number of matches from 64 to 104. More teams mean more flights, more accommodation, more logistics and millions of additional supporter journeys.
The decision to stage the tournament across three countries has further magnified the challenge.
Unlike recent editions held largely within a single host nation, supporters following their teams across North America may be required to travel thousands of kilometres between matches. Teams, officials, sponsors and media personnel face similar demands.
Distances between host cities stretch from Mexico City to Vancouver and from Toronto to Miami, with some journeys exceeding 4,000 kilometres. Aviation experts expect air travel alone to account for the largest share of the tournament’s carbon footprint.
Growing trend
The environmental burden of football’s biggest event has steadily increased over the years.
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa generated an estimated 2.75 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Brazil 2014 produced approximately 2.27 million tonnes, while Russia 2018 was responsible for around 2.16 million tonnes.
The trend reversed sharply in Qatar, where Fifa reported emissions of roughly 3.6 million tonnes for the 2022 tournament.
Now, projections for 2026 suggest the World Cup could more than double that figure.
To put the scale into perspective, the expected emissions would exceed the annual carbon output of several small nations and eclipse the environmental footprint of many Olympic Games.
Fifa’s sustainability gamble
Tournament organisers insist that the World Cup can still deliver a positive environmental legacy.
Through its Sustainability and Human Rights Strategy, Fifa has placed environmental protection at the centre of tournament planning.
Host cities were required to develop environmental action plans, while stadium operators have been encouraged to meet internationally recognised sustainability standards.
The strategy focuses on reducing emissions, improving waste management, promoting sustainable transport and maximising the use of existing infrastructure.
A key pillar of Fifa’s defence is that all 16 stadiums selected for the tournament were already operational before the World Cup was awarded.
Unlike Qatar 2022, where several venues were purpose-built, the 2026 tournament avoids the substantial carbon costs associated with large-scale stadium construction.
Fifa has also aligned its environmental agenda with the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Framework, committing to cut emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
Host cities have introduced a range of initiatives, including expanded public transport systems, renewable energy projects and enhanced recycling programmes.
Despite those efforts, environmental groups remain unconvinced.
Much of the criticism centres on carbon offsets, schemes through which organisations compensate for emissions by investing in projects such as reforestation, conservation and renewable energy.
Fifa has increasingly relied on offsets as part of its sustainability strategy, arguing that emissions can be measured, mitigated and compensated.
Critics counter that offsets cannot fully erase the environmental consequences of millions of long-haul flights.
The debate intensified after Qatar 2022, when environmental organisations challenged claims that the tournament was carbon-neutral, arguing that some emissions had been underestimated and that offsetting mechanisms were insufficient to balance the overall impact.
For many climate experts, offsets should complement emissions reductions, not replace them.
Climate change is now affecting football itself
There is a growing irony. The same climate crisis that football helps fuel is increasingly affecting how the game is played.
Scientists have warned that rising temperatures and more volatile weather patterns could disrupt matches in several host cities. Organisers have already incorporated heat-management measures into tournament planning, including hydration breaks, cooling strategies and the possibility of adjusting kick-off times.
Climate change is becoming an operational challenge, with heat becoming a tactical and operational factor. The introduction of water breaks, first formally used in Fifa competitions in 2018 and later embedded into the Laws of the Game, has evolved from an occasional emergency measure into a regular feature of elite tournaments in hot climates, including the World Cup.
At the 2026 edition, cooling breaks are a must, while kick-off times are increasingly being adjusted to avoid peak daytime heat.
Future tournaments may increasingly need to consider extreme heat, air quality concerns, water availability and severe weather events when selecting host cities and scheduling matches.