Sports

Three ways in which football is helping to recycle plastic

Sports events organisers are becoming more aware of the environmental impact they have and therefore are trying to be more sustainable, including by reducing and reusing plastics. 

Nepal to ban single-use plastics from Everest by 2020

The Nepalese government has introduced a ban on single-use plastic on Mount Everest from January 2020 in an attempt to cut down on the trash left by mountaineers in what has turned into the world's highest landfill.

Trees for goals: the teenager playing to end deforestation

Lesein, a 15-year-old Kenyan, is one of the thousands of youngsters around the globe who have joined Greta Thunberg in her fight against climate change. He has been planting trees for every goal he scores since 2018, as his way of contributing to the fight.

Lyon football club attempts to reconcile sport with environment

Olympique Lyonnais' newly-built OL City complex has been designed to be more environmentally friendly, though it initially attracted criticism for requiring a longer commute. EURACTIV France reports.

Fans back call for phasing out single-use plastics from UK stadiums

A survey conducted by YouGov shows football fans support for environmental NGOs' call to clubs in the UK top four divisions to eliminate single-use plastics from their stadiums. 

‘Sports for future’: German athletes raise their voices against climate change

German athletes, associations, clubs and supporters are joining forces to support the ‘Fridays for future’ movement and raise awareness of the need to fight climate change, including by promoting eco-friendly practices in sports management.

EU will not ban artificial turf pitches but could impose restrictions

The European Union will not ban artificial turf pitches, at least yet, but the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) is looking at alternatives, as this material is an important source of microplastics.

Profit, planet, and people: Dublin stadium’s approach to sustainability

Controlling the social, economic and environmental impact of its activity should be at the core of the administration of a sports venue, managers of the Aviva Stadium in Dublin told EURACTIV in an interview.

Forest Green Rovers, the world’s greenest football club

A vegan menu, bamboo-made t-shirts, an organic pitch, a stadium 100% powered with renewable energy… in less than a decade, the Forest Green Rovers has become the first carbon-neutral club in the world. EURACTIV interviewed its manager.

How sustainable can football be?

Football inspires, it brings people together and is like a religion to some – as we may well see at the Women's World Cup final in France on Sunday. But football also has its downsides: heaps of rubbish, squandering of water and a big CO2 footprint. The Life Tackle initiative now wants to change that.

The football tournament you’ve never heard of

Eight football teams will duel it out in the foothills of the Caucasus this month to decide which is the best in Europe. But you will not find Germany, Italy or Spain on the match list and none of the teams taking part are fully recognised by the international community.

Betis, the Spanish club committed to going climate neutral

Spanish football club Real Betis is well known for the colours of its T-shirt, green and white. But now they want to integrate that concept into their whole policy by leading the way in making soccer more sustainable.

UEFA faces criticism over carbon footprint for Euro finals

Criticism over football carbon footprint erupted as English clubs fans had to travel the world to see their teams playing against each other, thousands of kilometres away from home in Spain and Azerbaijan. 

E-racers electrify Berlin’s old airport

Formula One’s electric cousin came to Berlin’s defunct Tempelhof Airport on Saturday (25 May), in the latest round of a rapidly advancing sport. Formula E’s fortunes have progressed hand-in-hand with those of electric vehicles in general.

London marathon goes greener

As the London marathon aims at becoming a world leader in sustainable sports events, the Sunday (28 April) edition introduced a new set of measures to become greener.

French professional League and WWF join forces to boost sustainability in football

The French professional football governing body and the environmental NGO WWF signed a partnership in April to reduce the ecological footprint of football clubs.

British football clubs want to lead the way in reducing single-use plastics

Football can bring joy or frustration to supporters... but also a lot of waste. UK football teams have decided to introduce reusable cups in stadiums, as part of a joint initiative by the Premier League and British TV channel Sky News.

Spanish footfall club turns fan waste into organic fertiliser

Spanish football club Real Sociedad is turning the shells of sunflower seeds that supporters eat during matches into compost that local farms use as organic fertiliser.

Formula One outpaces EU rule changes, for now

Motorsports like Formula One should not be included under the EU’s updated insurance rules, according to members of the European Parliament, avoiding the need to treat on-track crashes like any other road traffic accident.

Spain’s La Liga says ready to turn to EU over City and PSG cases

The Spanish soccer league’s organising body La Liga is ready to turn to the European Union if UEFA does not enforce its Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules against Manchester City and Paris St Germain, a spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday....

Navracsics: EU call for healthier lifestyle is progressing, but more efforts are needed

The European Commission launched the Tartu Call for a Healthy Lifestyle a year ago, mostly to address rising obesity in the EU and promote physical activity, and it has already produced “concrete results”, Tibor Navracsics, the commissioner for education, culture, youth and sport, told EURACTIV.com.

English football club blames Brexit for lack of new players

The manager of English football club Tottenham Hotspur has blamed the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union for his team’s failure to sign any new players before the start of the new campaign.

Death-knell for microplastics?

MEPs voted on Tuesday (10 July) to amend European Commission plans to cut plastic pollution and suggested a ban on microplastics in cosmetics and other products by 2020.

Formula One at risk from new EU insurance rules?

Motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, is concerned that a European Commission update to rules on motor insurance could be “highly detrimental” to sports like Formula One, as it could leave race events dependent on the whims of insurance companies.