TheeSkootr Championship (eSC) is pleased to announce its partnership with LiveLike, an audience engagement platform that incorporates community, interactivity, and gamification to the online user experience. LiveLike’s cutting-edge approach enables sports and media companies to activate their audience and empower their fans via customised, interactive features. With this partnership, eSC will be leveraging LiveLike’s extensive toolkit and invaluable industry expertise to engage a worldwide community of fans and users.
When eSC takes to the trackfor its first event next spring, the series will present a new competitive sport to the world and a new way of engaging with fans on a global scale. With a diverse range of riders already making eSC one of the most accessible competitive sports worldwide, LiveLike’s technology will ensure that the championship remains highly accessible to fans watching trackside and from home.
LiveLike will integrate directly into eSC’s digital platform to help fans interact with the event in real time and consumeeSC content in a whole new way. As a technology-driven sport, eSC aims to be as ground-breaking off track as it is on track. Fans will be able to engage directly with other fans worldwide and with racing experts, commentators, and riders through chats, live polls, and even live race interactions.
Hrag Sarkissian, eSkootr Championship™ co-Founder and CEO, said:
“We’re reimagining racing to make it more accessible than ever before. This means creating compelling new ways to connect fans to our riders and races, getting them closer and more involved in the action, whether at trackside or watching from home. That’s why we’re partnering with LiveLike, like us they’re on a mission to take fan engagement and interactive sporting experience to another level.”
Miheer Walavalkar, LiveLike co-founder and CEO, said:
“Hrag hasbeen a friend to LiveLike for a long time, and we are grateful not only for his support but also his partnership. As the excitement continues to build toward eSC’s big event next year, the opportunity for enhanced fan interaction is clear. Our team is thrilled to be working closely with eSC to help them build features directly into their platform, including gamification elements that will keep their fan community engaged before, during, and after the competitions.”
LiveLike is just one of the media partners working with eSC as the world’s first electric scooter championship gears up for a global racing event which will race on specially created city centre tracks starting in spring 2022. eSC Chief Content Officer Sharon Fuller, will be speaking on a Future Prospects panel at the SportsPro OTT Summit on Tuesday with other sports media and technology leaders. The SportsPro OTT Summit is taking place between 15 – 18 November 2021.
The Premier League and Panini are excited to announce a renewal to their partnership, prolonging the Premier League collectables license that was granted in 2019.
Panini is synonymous with sticker and trading card collecting the world over and has been a firm supporter of the Premier League and its initiatives over the last two years.
This includes Panini assets featuring as part of free Maths resources available to more than 18,000 teachers in England and Wales via the Premier League Primary Stars education programme.
Panini has also participated in activation at international events run by the Premier League such as PL Mornings Live fan festivals run in the US (pictured above).
Domestically, sales of Premier League Adrenalyn trading cards have doubled this year to confirm Adrenalyn as the market-leading brand for trading cards in the UK.
Panini has also established the iconic Panini sticker album brand as the number-one collectable in the UK with Premier League sticker sales last season climbing to the highest level for 15 years, despite the challenges of the pandemic.
Internationally, Premier League collectables are at an all-time high as Panini leverage the strength of the Premier League brand worldwide thanks to its exhaustive global network.
“Stickers and trading cards are a great way for fans around the world to engage with the Premier League and its clubs,” said Will Brass, Premier League Chief Commercial Officer. “Panini has been a great partner since becoming the Premier League’s official sticker and trading card licensee in 2019, and we look forward to continuing to build our relationship over the coming seasons.”
Mike Riddell, Panini UK Managing Director, said: “We are proud to be awarded the most prestigious license in the UK, and we relish the prospect of continuing to grow the market in the coming years.”
Peter Warsop, Panini Group Licensing Director, added: “Panini has ignited the Football collectables market in the USA, China and internationally. The Premier League will continue to attract new fans and collectors with Panini enjoying continued substantial growth both domestically and through 60-plus other International markets.”
The world basketball governing body FIBA has expanded its media presence in North America with the announcement of a long-term broadcast rights agreement with the multiplatform Canadian network, Sportsnet. Through this new partnership, Sportsnet becomes the exclusive broadcast rights holder for FIBA’s major events through to 2025.
Canada has a passionate basketball fan base that is rapidly growing. The national teams for both women and men played at the previous FIBA Basketball World Cups in 2018 and 2019, and Canada won the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in 2017. Both the men’s and women’s Canadian national teams will be on court a lot over the next four years with main events like both FIBA Basketball World Cups, the FIBA AmeriCups and their respective qualifiers. Sportsnet is looking to help build a legacy for basketball in the country by becoming FIBA’s exclusive rights holder in Canada.
Basketball is already part of Sportsnet’s programming as they are the NBA’s broadcast partner. The company is also the official Canadian NHL ice hockey national multimedia rights holder, and it is the Canadian leader in Major League Baseball television broadcasts.
“This is great news for basketball fans in Canada,” FIBA Media and Marketing Services Director General, Frank Leenders said. “The passion for the sport in this part of the world is evident and this partnership with Sportsnet allows for the creation of new synergies and increased levels of commitment which will provide fans with unprecedented coverage and access to FIBA competitions in the years to come.”
“As the home of extensive basketball coverage in Canada, Sportsnet is proud to partner with FIBA to bring Canadians front-row access to the country’s brightest stars on the world stage,” said Bart Yabsley, Sportsnet President. “Complementing our network’s NBA, WNBA and Canada Basketball content, today’s partnership with FIBA reinforces our ongoing commitment to building a basketball legacy for players and fans alike in Canada. We look forward to collaborating with FIBA to make these international games available as part of Sportsnet’s industry-leading portfolio of the basketball games that fans want.”
Earlier today reports surfaced from Autocar which indicated that McLaren was on the verge of being sold to Audi and that the german car manufacturer was looking at getting involved with Formula One, however that has been shot down by McLaren in a statement this afternoon.
McLaren said:
McLaren Group is aware of a news media report stating it has been sold to Audi. This is wholly inaccurate and McLaren is seeking to have the story removed.
McLaren’s technology strategy has always involved ongoing discussions and collaboration with relevant partners and suppliers, including other carmakers, however, there has been no change in the ownership structure of the McLaren Group.
Infront X look at how automation is changing the landscape of the content produced by sport.
Automation changed the way humans work, saving countless hours of wasted manpower and money.
While automation’s roots lie in manufacturing, the concept of automating processes to improve workflows is now part of nearly every industry, from transportation, to health, medicine, sales and marketing.
Content automation for marketing hasn’t just become the norm, it is a necessity. The modern day content marketer is overloaded with tasks: generating in-depth marketing plans for user acquisition, writing and editing, SEO optimization and content distribution, to name a few. They do everything while keeping up with best practices, following the habits of younger generations and coordinating with other departments.
“For many marketers, especially those working on small teams, there isn’t enough time to complete tasks correctly. This is where content automation becomes increasingly valuable.”
For many marketers, especially those working on small teams, there isn’t enough time to complete tasks correctly. This is where content automation becomes increasingly valuable. By leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (MLP) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), marketing teams are able to create and distribute content while reducing human error, without additional human resources.
In most industries, content marketing teams are able to plan ahead and leverage automation for tasks ranging from writing blog posts and creating elaborate infographics to repurposing content for wide distribution and scheduling posts ahead of time.
However, this type of automation isn’t feasible in the sports industry. Sports content teams have been able to utilize some scheduling and analytics platforms, such as Hootsuite and Later, for their content. But these platforms don’t address the fact that in sports, these content editors do not have the luxury of time; they must react to the action and quickly deliver stories and results to many different audiences.
The Challenge of Automating Sports Content
Sports content teams create content that fans care most about – the goals scored, the buzzer beaters, upsets and dramatic finishes.
“These platforms don’t address the fact that in sports, these content editors do not have the luxury of time; they must react to the action and quickly deliver stories and results to many different audiences.”
In the digital age, if highlights and reactions aren’t posted moments after key events happen, they are considered late.
Aside from a continuous battle against time, sports entities face additional challenges on a daily basis. They must create large volumes of high-quality, engaging content for fans while competing with the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and OTT platforms for attention. This includes catering to millions of fans of different ages, in different countries and languages, each with their own preferences.
These factors, as well as the sheer number of social profiles teams must operate – like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, to name a few – make automating sports content more challenging than that of a typical marketing department. But it is now possible.
Content X: Your Content, Automated
Advancements in AI and ML propelled sports technologies forward. This allows for the automation of key components of sports content production:
Creating engaging highlight videos and infographics
Generating copy that speaks to fans and is tailored for languages and locations
Packaging and distributing content across platforms
Leveraging analytics platforms that show rights owners the real value of their content
While these advancements were game changers for the industry, they operate independently. Content teams face the issue of navigating through these platforms on their desktops, creating videos on one, infographics on another, downloading content to their computers and manually uploading elsewhere for publication.
Content X combines the leading technologies to supply sports content teams with a one-of-a-kind, fully-automated platform. It generates in-depth content plans, produces, packages and distributes highly engaging, original content from a central location, while leveraging performance analytics to continuously improve digital game plans.
Automating the content creation process with Content X allows for a greater volume of personalized content without additional resources, time or man power.
Personalization at Scale
Content X’s ground-breaking technologies enable content teams to overcome one of the biggest frictions they face: creating content that is both personalized and at scale. The technologies generate content for fans of all ages, delivering it to the right audiences, in the right format and language, on the relevant channels and at the right time. This allows content teams to increase their overall reach and engagement, creating a true, global network of fans.
More content means more assets, leading to more monetization opportunities for rights owners, especially when dealing with personalized content. Personalizing content on such granular levels can enable rights owners to maximize their partnership opportunities and increase the value of their content by pairing it with the best possible sponsor.
“In reality, most rights owners are missing a significant understanding of where their content is placed and who is watching it.”
It is imperative that rights owners understand the true value of their content. This may sound like common sense; in reality, most rights owners are missing a significant understanding of where their content is placed and who is watching it. The sports world enjoys an abundance of user generated content across the web, resulting in increased exposure for sports entities, brands and sponsors, while making it increasingly difficult to get a real understanding of its value.
Content X’s analytics show the true value of content by scanning the web for all copies of a piece of content, showing exactly how many copies are online, how many views each has and how many views are on each social channel. Rights owners are given a more holistic view of their content’s reach, allowing them to create new business models based on hard data.
The era of editing play-by-play clips and manual uploads is behind us. Gone are the days of fretting over the correct sponsor activation, at the right moment and with which content. We will no longer agonize over statistics that don’t offer actionable data.
Automation allows content teams to re-imagine workflows and output, providing faster produced content that is free of human error. The team can then focus on in-depth, premium content.
The era of automated sports content is upon us, let’s embrace it.
Socios.com, the all-in-one influence and rewards app for sports fans across the world, has announced its first foray into the worlds of American football and soccer via a groundbreaking partnership with Kraft Sports + Entertainment’s New England Patriots and New England Revolution.
The partnerships with the Patriots and Revolution represent Socios.com’s first deals with clubs in the National Football League and Major League Soccer, respectively, adding to the 24 National Basketball Association franchises that have existing agreements with the leading global blockchain provider for the sports and entertainment industry. Today’s announcement extends Socios.com’s ever-expanding American footprint into the six-state New England region and marks the company’s first partnership with an ownership group spanning multiple sports.
“Kraft Sports + Entertainment is home to one of the winningest franchises in NFL history, as well as the top team in Major League Soccer this season, so we are ecstatic to welcome this prestigious, successful group into the Socios.com family,” said Socios.com CEO Alexandre Dreyfus. “We look forward to partnering with the Patriots and Revolution to increase their fan engagement as we continue our surge into the U.S. sports industry.”
The Patriots, tied for the NFL’s all-time lead with six Super Bowl™ victories, will use the partnership to engage with their fan base through activities available in the Socios.com mobile app. Similarly, “Patriots Fan Predictions, presented by Socios.com,” will reward New England fans with prizes for correctly answering five matchup-related questions during each week of the season on Patriots.com and the Patriots mobile app. The partnership also positions Socios.com as the official sponsor of the Patriots’ indoor practice field house.
“Socios.com is an industry leader in utilizing new technologies to engage fans in creative and imaginative ways,” said Jim Nolan, chief operating officer at Kraft Sports + Entertainment. “We look forward to teaming with them and exploring the technologies available to reach new audiences and provide additional fan enhancements.”
The Revolution, winners of the 2021 MLS Supporters’ Shield as the regular season champions for the first time in their 26-year history, enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs. Socios.com will become the official sponsor of the Revolution’s training center and will display in-stadium signage during action for both teams. Socios.com will also present a fan prediction poll throughout the Revolution’s run in the MLS Cup Playoffs this season where fans can win prizes, including tickets and autographed merchandise.
“We are excited to partner with the pioneering team at Socios.com, a global leader in cutting-edge fan engagement, to offer new and innovative experiences for our fans to connect with their club,” Revolution President Brian Bilello said. “The Revolution look forward to collaborating with Socios.com to enrich the fan experience both virtually and at the stadium, providing them with more access to their favorite club and players than ever before.”
The Patriots and Revolution join a network of more than 100 major sporting organizations on the Socios.com roster, including leading American franchises such as the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. Internationally, the Socios.com family features European soccer giants FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, Valencia Manchester City, Inter Milan, Arsenal and the Argentina and Portugal national soccer teams, as well as a number of leading teams from F1, esports and cricket.
Socios.com is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide the world’s leading sporting organizations with the tools to engage with and monetize their global fanbases. The company has multiple office locations around the world and has opened new regional headquarters in Madrid, Istanbul, São Paulo and Buenos Aires in 2021, with a new office in North America to open in the near future.
Sky today announced the signing of a multi-year deal as New Zealand’s exclusive broadcast rights partner of the A-Leagues. The partnership, which includes multiple Sky platforms, secures the broadcast rights for all matches in season for both women and men, including the A-Leagues finals series.
The broadcast partnership comes just weeks before the Wellington Phoenix debuts its first ever women’s team in the A-League / Women competition. The women’s debut match against Western Sydney Wanderers on December 3, will be televised live and also available Free to Air on Prime.
“We’re delighted to confirm that every A-League / Women and Isuzu UTE A-League match will be live and exclusive on Sky, served any which way that works for our customers, on their Sky Box or streaming on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go,” says Head of Sport Partnerships for Sky, Adam Crothers.
“We have worked closely with Australian Premier Leagues to put a partnership together that’s so much more than a broadcasting deal. As New Zealand and Australia look forward to the biggest global event in women’s sport, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, we’ll be working with the APL and other partners like New Zealand Football to grow interest in the ‘beautiful game’ – on the field, in the stands and on air.”
The Isuzu UTE A-League kicks off this Friday, 19 November with Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar, while Kiwis will be excited to see the Wellington Phoenix clash with Macarthur FC on November 21. The following weekend features the long-awaited women’s debut, followed by the men’s team in a Kiwi double-header.
APL Managing Director, Danny Townsend said: “As the most followed sport in the world, our strategy is to grow and engage with football audiences across New Zealand from grass-roots through to professional competitions. By partnering with Sky, we can offer top-level football to an unprecedented reach of Kiwi football fans.
“The strength of Sky’s content and its globally recognised creative prowess are a true asset to the A-Leagues content offering, including our KEEPUP digital platform. We know that with local content from New Zealand, we are in the strongest position to showcase the talent and skill of our A-leagues teams.”
“We’re really excited about the inclusion of the Wellington Phoenix Women’s team in the A-League. APL is a huge champion of the women’s game and the ‘Club Championship’, where both the men’s and women’s teams compete for points to decide the ultimate club is just one example of the APL’s commitment to innovating and growing the League.
“The A-League is yet another important piece in our strategy to lift up women’s sport through greater visibility, more opportunities for women in production and broadcasting and more chances to inspire rangatahi and wāhine in Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Adam Crothers.
While all matches will be available on Sky across multiple broadcast and streaming platforms, selected games and content will be free to air throughout the competition. The double-header on December 3 featuring the Wellington Phoenix A-League / Women debut and Wellington Phoenix Men will be Free to Air on Prime.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC), in partnership with Chiliz, the leading blockchain provider for the sports and entertainment industry, have officially announced that the reigning European Champions will launch an $ITA Fan Token on the fan engagement and rewards app Socios.com.
Over 1.3M users from 167 countries are using Socios.com to engage with and be rewarded by the teams they love through Fan Tokens. Fan Tokens are digital assets, minted on the Chiliz blockchain, that provide owners with access to voting rights in polls, VIP rewards, exclusive promotions, AR-enabled features, games and competitions.
In addition, fans are able to put their skills to the test against other fans from around the world in games, competitions and quizzes, competing in global leaderboards and earning real-life and digital club-related rewards, benefits and experiences along the way. Fans can also look forward to accessing exclusive content and experiencing Socios.com’s geo-location, augmented reality feature ‘Token Hunt’. Socios.com also recently added to its offering for Fan Token holders, launching the first ever live ‘in game’ NFTs in collaboration with AC Milan, Valencia and S.C. Corinthians.
The resources generated by the partnership will be used by the FIGC to develop the entire movement, focusing in particular on basic sports facilities, with the aim of improving training facilities throughout the country. Through the partnership, which involves all the Italian national teams, the FIGC aim to support the overall growth of the Italian football system. Furthermore, Socios.com will be the title sponsor of the Women’s Italian Cup for the next 2 years, confirming the growing interest in women’s competitions organised by the Football Federation.
Italy is the third national football federation to join the Socios.com roster, following in the footsteps of AFA (Argentina) and FPF (Portugal). Socios.com has partnered with over 100 major sporting organisations, including the aforementioned teams, other Serie A clubs including Inter Milan, Juventus, Napoli, AS Roma and many more big names such as FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid, Manchester City and Arsenal. As well as soccer, Socios.com’s expansive network also includes the UFC, F1 teams, 24 NBA franchises and leading lights from NHL, esports and cricket.
Revenues from the sale of $ITA Fan Tokens will be reinvested into the Italian Football Federation, especially at youth level, with funds to be allocated to improve training facilities, coaching and player resources in order to promote the long term development and continued success of the national team.
Details on when the $ITA Fan Token will launch, as well as the price and supply will be revealed shortly.
Socios.com is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform that uses blockchain technology to provide the world’s leading sporting organisations with the tools to engage with and monetize their global fanbases. The company has major expansion plans and is targeting many more Fan Token launches throughout the world. Socios.com recently opened new regional headquarters in Madrid, Istanbul, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, and will soon open new offices in Italy and North America.
President of the FIGC Gabriele Gravina said: “This partnership will allow us to expand our relationship with our fans, providing new engagement opportunities and the chance for fans to be rewarded.
“It’s also another important step in continuing the development project of Italian football, because it will allow us to invest into new resources at a grassroots level. The partnership will allow us to support the development of youth football and the entire movement, from the base to the top of the pyramid.”
Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, said: “Italy is a footballing powerhouse, synonymous with passion, determination and sporting glory.
“We’re proud and excited to welcome the reigning European champions to our roster of partners and look forward to giving Azzurri across the world the chance to engage with and be rewarded by their team like never before.”
McLaren Racing today announced the appointment of its first Director of Sustainability, and its signature of both the UN Sports for Climate Action Commitment and the UN Race to Zero pledge during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.
McLaren Racing’s first Director of Sustainability, Kim Wilson, will join the team on 31 January 2022. Kim was most recently employed by EDF in the UK where she has been at the forefront of their sustainable business agenda for more than a decade. Her most recent focus was on developing EDF’s Helping Britain Achieve Net Zero campaign.
Kim Wilson, Director of Sustainability, McLaren Racing: “McLaren Racing’s ambition to drive and champion innovation that helps others transition to a net zero, circular world and positively contribute to a truly sustainable future is really inspiring. I am excited to be joining the team at such a pivotal time and am looking forward to working with my new colleagues to turn these bold ambitions into reality.”
Tim Bampton, Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer, McLaren Racing: “Kim is a senior sustainability professional who will bring a wealth of experience of embedding sustainability into the culture and decision-making at McLaren Racing. Her experience in this field is second to none. She joins McLaren at a time when our future commitment to sustainability is of paramount importance and I have no doubt she will deliver shared value for the team at McLaren as well as to the environment.”
By becoming a signatory to the United Nations’ Sports for Climate Action Commitment, McLaren Racing is committed to joining the sports community as a responsible global citizen combating climate change. The framework includes measuring, reducing and reporting the team’s greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the 1.5-degree commitment enshrined in the Paris Agreement and to committing to being carbon net zero by 2040. McLaren Racing has already committed to achieving net zero by 2030.
Similarly, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Race to Zero campaign exists to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities and investors for a healthy and resilient zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.
These announcements follow an engagement hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales during the first week of COP26 last week, to mark McLaren’s entry into Extreme E and the team’s first-ever female racing driver and reveal of its launch livery. Extreme E is an all-electric motorsport platform which exists to raise awareness of climate change through the terrains it races on in remote parts of the world and promote diversity. McLaren’s Extreme E team has partnered with Count Us In, a global platform that shares high-impact, achievable steps to reduce carbon pollution, which align with the UN’s sustainability development goals.
Earlier this year, McLaren Racing launched its strategy for a sustainable team, which details the organisation’s continued commitment to addressing climate change through enhancing both its environmental and social areas of impact. This strategy is centred around four clear areas of focus: the two primary areas of environmental focus are achieving a net-zero emissions target by 2030 and the transition towards a circular economy, while the two primary areas of social focus are being delivered through maximising positive impact in the areas of diversity, equality and inclusion, and promoting mental and physical health and wellbeing.
During 2021, this strategy was augmented through independent expert analysis, input and innovative initiatives, including the development of a robust data driven net-zero route map, the incorporation of bio-based materials solutions in the design of our F1 car, through to the launch of the McLaren Racing Engage programme which will advance the team’s diversity, equality and inclusion agenda as part of its broader sustainability programme. The programme is an alliance of four partners which aims to diversify talent and promote STEM and motorsport as accessible vocations to under-represented and under-privileged groups. The partners are: EqualEngineers, The Women’s Engineering Society and The Smallpeice Trust.
iSportConnect’s Abid Qidwai asks if the COP26 Summit will be enough for sport to become more sustainable…
With the effects of climate change becoming more and more visible to mankind, we as the habitants of earth have a responsibility towards protecting mother nature. We know the cause of current climate change is largely human activity, this has been widely addressed before, but since the carbon footprint does not seem to be on a halt, stricter measures are needed immediately.
Despite COP26 not being on any international sports calendar, the event has been attended by representatives of national and international bodies and sporting organisations. But will the summit have provided the change required once it is all said and done?
Among the speakers was Georgina Grenon, the director of environmental excellence for the organising committee of Paris 2024. With less than three years to go before the event, Paris 2024 has set itself up as a leader in this class. After presenting the policy of Paris 2024 in terms of sustainability, she explained that the Organising Committee was committed to halving its emissions by 2024 and completely offsetting them over the same period. The IOC has made a commitment through its president, Thomas Bach, to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% by 2030. “We will achieve this goal six years earlier, for the Games of 2024,” assured Georgina Grenon.
Nearly 300 sports organisations are signatories to the Sport for Climate Action (S4CA) framework, she said. “We are now challenging them to reduce their emissions by 50% by 2030 at the latest, and then to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. They must also commit to submitting plans outlining the concrete actions that will be taken to implement the 2030 targets. They will have to publish annual updates over the next eight years”.
In the current situation, where decisive action on climate is more urgent than ever, Albert II, Prince of Monaco, reiterated: the next editions of the Olympic Games have all committed to being carbon neutral. “Starting in 2030, the IOC has mandated that all Olympic Games must be climate positive,” he insisted.
Joining the calls for action as world leaders meet at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland, FIFA has committed to a leading role in the world of sport by confirming its pledge to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change − Sports for Climate Action Framework. It is no coincidence that FIFA issued a statement on the same day detailing its climate strategy. The international soccer body also wants to be at the forefront. “This is a critical moment. The change in weather patterns is impacting the environment and its rich biodiversity, food security and access to fresh water, as well as the health and well-being of individuals,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino in a video address to the delegates gathered in Glasgow.
FIFA is committed to respecting the UN’s demands, a reduction of half of the emissions by 2030, then net zero emissions in 2040. It recalls having concluded an agreement with Qatar to organise a carbon neutral soccer World Cup next year. The terrain will be favourable, with the stadiums for the global tournament all concentrated in and around Doha. But the task will be far more complex for the next edition, which FIFA has awarded to the United States, Mexico and Canada, with thousands of miles to fly for teams, officials, media and spectators.
When it comes to sustainability, professional soccer is struggling to put the fine words of its international leaders into action. Recently, Manchester United was criticised on social media for flying its team to Leicester, only 85 kilometres away, for a Premier League match, but exceptions like Forest Green are the trailblazers in this area. Their ground in Gloucestershire uses only renewable energy, rainwater and cooking oil are among the things recycled at the stadium and there are charging points for electric cars and a park and ride scheme.They were recognised by Fifa in 2017 as “the greenest football club in the world” and in 2018 became the first carbon-neutral football club, as certified by the United Nations.
The FIFA Climate Strategy consists of goals that will put FIFA on the path to climate-friendly performance, to protect FIFA’s tournaments from the negative climate change impacts, and to ensure climate-resilient football development across FIFA operations and events by 2040.
“We, as inhabitants of this planet, must all make this our priority,” added FIFA Council member Isha Johansen in addressing the Sports for Climate Action − On the Race to Zero session at COP26. “Football also has the power to radically shift mindsets on climate change and mainstream climate action. We have a huge, attentive audience and it is our duty to amplify these key messages. We will help educate fans on climate change and encourage them to play their part in protecting the planet and the beautiful game.”
How to be a sustainable sports fan (ways to reduce your carbon footprint)
Walk, cycle or use public transport to the game
Go paperless – A printed ticket involves a receipt and an envelope at least, as well as carbon emissions involved in transporting it to you. Some clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham do not have single-use plastics, while Manchester City have trialled edible coffee cups.
A shirt made from polyester (as most football shirts are) has more than double the carbon footprint of one made from cotton (5.5kg of carbon dioxide per shirt compared to 2.1kg). In the UK, continuing to actively wear a garment for just nine months longer could diminish its environmental impacts by 20-30%.
Huge numbers of sporting organisations have reacted to the COP26 Summit by stating that they will become more sustainable, achieve net zero and so on, but what will truly be telling is whether those words are followed up by actions.
We have a moral, urgent duty to accelerate our actions, if we wish for the impact to not affect our children and their children, and hopefully many generations more, then the motive and commitment towards protecting the climate should be taken seriously and adapted by all. Let’s hope COP26 can provide a solid step forwards.
