Federico Addiechi, the head of sustainability at FIFA, says any bid for a sporting event must now include sustainability as a core component.
During a recent discussion on “Environmental sustainability in sport” with the Sports Group of the European Parliament (EP), Addiechi acknowledged that the game of football is in danger due to climate change.
Climate change is already impacting the ability for football to be played due to extreme weather patterns around the world, which are affecting the health and well-being of players and participants, and they are becoming an existential threat in the territories of some of our member associations,” Addiechi said.
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Addiechi added that the effects of climate change affected the way that FIFA engaged with stakeholders of the game.
“While I believe that our organization has been at the forefront of a comprehensive integration of sustainability in the world of sport over the past decades and has the ambition to continue leading that field in the world of sport, I am also aware of the fact that the challenges that we’re facing in this climate crisis are huge,” he said.
According to Addiechi, FIFA has a duty to use the exposure and influence of its competitions to spread the word about the significance and necessity of taking action on climate change.
The EP Sports Group was in charge of planning the event. MEP Tomasz Frankowski, MEP Tiziana Beghin, and MEP Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, who served as the session’s moderator, led the discussion.
Both Riikka Rakic, the head of sustainability for the International Biathlon Union (IBU), and Nicole Mündelein, the coordinator of the Host City Working Group Sustainability for UEFA EURO 2024, participated in the conversation.
Story adapted from Sports and Dev
