Football’s Climate Own Goal: The Case for Abolishing the FIFA World Cup

This paper criticizes the environmental devastation and pervasive greenwashing associated with corporate football, with a particular focus on the FIFA men’s World Cup Finals. Analysis of past World Cups—Germany (2006), South Africa (2010), Brazil (2014), and particularly Qatar (2022)—reveals a consistent failure by FIFA and host nations to meet climate goals. Furthermore, major teams and governing bodies like UEFA and FIFA depend on sponsors from environmentally-damaging industries that utilize these sports for green cover, deflecting attention from their nefarious activities. As future World Cups expand (2026, 2030, 2034) and move to climate-vulnerable nations, the environmental impact is projected to worsen. We conclude that the corporate logic that has appropriated football makes positive change impossible, arguing that the only meaningful response to the World Cup’s systemic environmental impact, corruption, and social harm is its abolition.