Getting Fans to Stand up for Climate Change

As the Messi Effect shows, a star player has the power to captivate billions.

Estimates show that there are 3.5 to 5 billion soccer fans globally and in Miami that number is growing. Lionel Messi is creating a surge of Major League Soccer fans after winning the World Cup with Argentina and then joining Inter Miami CF in July.

While soaring ticket prices are good business, the team is also harnessing that good for the environment. The newly popular football team is working with the company (re)boot to reuse its training uniforms, game day uniforms, and other team pieces by combining them into new shirts. Gabriella Mas’ inaugural collection used worn kits by the 2022 Inter Miami CF First Team and launched in March for the youth club Inter Miami CF Academy players.

While reusing jerseys is a start, other sports teams across the globe are using their influence to take even greater steps to impact climate change. Adding in stadium recycling, reducing single use plastic, teaching players about environmental sustainability, and incentivising fans to take public transit to games are some of the ways sports teams are getting serious about climate action.?

Premier League Football Clubs in the Lead

Europe’s top football clubs are under the spotlight by United Nations -backed Sport Positive . For the fourth consecutive season it has ranked all 20 Premier Football League clubs based on environmental efforts. Looking at areas such as clean energy, reducing single use plastic, consuming low carbon food, and communication and engagement with teams about sustainability efforts, the Sport Positive ranking shows which ones are setting examples, and those that have a long way to go.

For the second year running, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Liverpool Football Club , came in at the top with high marks for sustainable transportation.

While all teams lost points for taking domestic flights, seven of the 20 clubs on the list have set Net Zero targets. The Spurs are leading environmental education sessions for men’s and women’s teams, showing the importance of building community and engagement to make a difference.

Sports for Climate Action

Another UN initiative, Sports for Climate Action, aims to use sports as a unifying tool to drive climate awareness and action globally, with participants committing to incorporating five principles into their operations: promoting greater environmental responsibility, educating for climate action, promoting sustainable and responsible consumption, and using communications to advocate for climate action. California’s Golden State Warriors and its Chase Center was the first National Basketball Association (NBA) team to sign the UN Sports for Climate Action Initiative. The Chase Center recovers gray water from restrooms and showers, harvests stormwater from its roof, and has low-flow toilets and sinks in its bathrooms.

??Addressing Climate Change Through Sport

Nascar’s Impact?

With the impact that car emissions have on the environment, car racing may be among the worst for environmental impact. In April, NASCAR announced its goal to achieve Net Zero operating emissions by 2035 as part of its Nascar Impact initiative. The changes will include 100 percent renewable electricity at all Nascar-owned facilities and racetracks, using sustainable racing fuel, putting in EV charging stations at tracks and facilities, and adding recycling programs at tracks.

It’s also developing a sustainable race fuel with its gasoline partner, Sunoco. There’s even talk of racing with EVs such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which may disappoint more traditional fans.

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Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena

Seattle is taking a stand for climate change with its Climate Pledge Arena . In 2020, Amazon bought the naming rights to the 18,000 capacity home to the National Hockey League (NHL) 's Seattle Kraken , WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) 's Seattle Storm , Seattle University Redhawks men's basketball team, and Women's Flat Track Derby Association 's Rat City Roller Derby Derby league.

The venue’s goal for "zero-waste" includes compostable food containers, capturing rainwater for its rink, and sourcing at least 75 percent of concession stands serving food from local producers. Ticket holders can even ride public transit for free two hours before and two hours after an event — during the first year, 25 percent of Kraken and Storm ticket holders used public transit to get to and from games. But the return on investment is still to be seen.

In a New York Times article, Timothy Leiweke , the chief executive of the Oak View Group , which owns 51 percent of the building, said that the return on investment was not clear, and that they still needed to confirm that the building meets its sustainable targets. But Leiweke also said that expects the efforts to pay for themselves over time and the arena to provide a blueprint for others in the industry.

Sports organizations have an opportunity to galvanize stakeholders — from players to fans — on sustainability. It's an opportunity for mass adoption of sustainable principles and with billions of captive viewers it's an opportunity that can't be missed.