Getty Images
- 2026 event to feature 48 teams and three host nations as part of expanded format
- SGR estimates next year’s World Cup to produce nearly 4m CO2e tonnes more than Qatar 2022
- Fifa opens new US office in NYC’s Trump Tower
The 2026 Fifa World Cup is predicted to be the “most climate-damaging” in the tournament’s history, according to a new report from Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR).
Next year’s international soccer competition, which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico, will feature 48 teams as part of an expanded format. This will result in 40 more games being played across the entire North America continent.
The three host countries had provided a preliminary estimate of 3.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in their original bid book, although the estimate only accounted for a 32-team tournament. In addition, the trio stated that the 2026 World Cup would establish ‘new standards for environmental sustainability in sport and deliver measurable environmental benefits’.
However, SGR’s research, which was first reported by BBC Sport, now estimates the 2026 total to be more than nine million tonnes of CO2e. The figure was said to be ‘driven by a high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches’.
This total is said to be equivalent to ‘nearly 6.5 million average British cars’ driven for an entire year, making it the ‘most polluting’ tournament ever held.
SGR’s report, which was conducted in collaboration with the Environmental Defence Fund and the Sport for Climate Action Network, added that the nine million tonnes total would be almost double the average for the last four World Cup finals. It would also be drastically more than the 2022 edition in Qatar, which was said to have had a footprint of up to 5.25 million tonnes of CO2e.
Fifa has yet to respond to the report from SGR. Soccer’s governing body previously declared that the Qatar 2022 World Cup would be the first ‘fully carbon-neutral World Cup’, but a Swiss advertising regulator found that it made ‘unsubstantiated claims’ about the event’s environmental impact.
The organisation also has previously committed to reducing its emission by 50 per cent by 2030 and to eventually achieve net-zero by 2040.
Fifa has also opened its second US office in New York City. The new office will be located in Trump Tower, with the federation yet to reveal which staff or departments will be housed in the new office.
This comes a year after Fifa opened its first US office in Miami last year. It holds the governing body’s legal operations and other staff responsible for the ongoing Club World Cup and next year’s World Cup.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has fostered a close relationship with US president Donald Trump, with the pair appearing together at numerous public events. Infantino previously said it was “crucial” for him to be close to Trump.
“Fifa (is) a global organisation (and) to be global, you have to be local, you have to be everywhere, so we have to be in New York – not just for the Fifa Club World Cup this year and the Fifa World Cup next year – we have to be in New York as well when it comes to where our offices are based,” said Infantino.
“Thanks, of course, to President (Donald) Trump as well, who is a big fan of soccer, (together with) the whole family. (It is a) fact that we have received such a big support from the government and from the President with the White House Task Force for the Fifa Club World Cup (now) and for the Fifa World Cup next year.”
Get your daily briefing of all the essential news across the sports industry with the SportsPro Daily Newsletter. Subscribe here.