44 Women's World Cup players pledge to take responsibility for climate impact of travel to tournament

The biggest player-led climate action in the history of football, led by Denmark’s Sofie Junge Pedersen, Canada’s Jessie Fleming, and Italy’s Elena Linari, sees players committing to create a positive environmental legacy for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as they take part in an initiative supported by Common Goal and Football For Future. 

A collective of 44 leading players from four different countries, including the Danish international Pedersen, Canadian midfielder Fleming, and Italian defender Linari, have committed to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their flights to and from the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The players are donating money to a combination of climate resilience and carbon offsetting and adaptation initiatives.

The action-based initiative was created by Pedersen who was determined to create a meaningful method for players to mitigate negative environmental impacts of travelling to Australia and New Zealand. The campaign was facilitated by Common Goal, the social and environmental collective movement in global football, and Football For Future, the UK-based climate advocacy football non-profit.

While understanding that donating to climate resilience, carbon offsetting and adaptation initiatives are not the solutions to solve the climate crisis, the campaign recognises that these are short-term tools to compensate for players' flights to and from the World Cup. 

The campaign aims to inspire everyone in football to take responsibility in tackling climate change. A key policy objective of the campaign is to inspire governing bodies to make carbon a key criteria in the bidding process for tournaments. 

The campaign relies on a rigorous and scientific methodology to calculate the environmental impact of the players' flights to and from the World Cup, directly referencing the flight’s carbon tonnage. The players then donate the money to a combination of climate resilience, carbon offsetting and adaptation initiatives run by WWF (Australia, New Zealand) and DanChurchAid. These initiatives are based in Australia, New Zealand, and Uganda.

Speaking about the initiative, Pedersen said: “I want to ensure my World Cup experience has a positive environmental legacy. Climate change is the biggest issue humanity faces, and I want to be part of the solution. While there are no current sustainable solutions to aviation, as players we are setting an example, and taking a tangible step in the right direction.”

Football For Future Founder, Elliot Arthur-Worsop, highlighted the need for governing bodies to acknowledge the impact travel emissions have: “There’s currently no sustainable solution for the environmental cost of air travel. Governing bodies need to acknowledge the impact that their tournaments have on the natural world and introduce carbon considerations as key criteria in the bidding process for hosting future tournaments.

"The 2026 Men’s World Cup is predicted to be the most carbon intensive event in the history of the beautiful game, with travel representing 85% of total emissions. This trajectory is not compatible with a healthy planet for future generations, let alone the future of football. Things need to change, and the 2030 World Cup host selection is a perfect moment for FIFA to make a meaningful statement.”