Taking place in 16 cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico with about 72,000 fans coming to each stadium, the FIFA World Cup 2026 is predicted to break all kinds of records. Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) estimated the tournament could generate more than nine million tonnes of CO₂, around 92% higher than the average footprint of recent World Cups from 2010 to 2022.
This year’s tournament is bigger than ever before, with 40 additional matches bringing the total to 104 games to the schedule. For the first time, 48 countries will compete instead of 32, which increases energy use from travel and overall logistics. That scale raises a concerning question: can the FIFA World Cup really be sustainable?
What FIFA is promising
Through its Sustainability & Human Rights Strategy for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA now presents sustainability in the way the World Cup is planned and delivered. It highlights climate-friendly stadiums, greater use of renewable energy, and running the event in a more environmentally responsible way on a bigger scale than before.
As FIFA World Cup chief operating officer Heimo Schirgi said:
“We are committed to working with all the host cities and World Cup stadiums to meet ambitious sustainability and human rights goals, and to ensure tournament operations are respectful of people and the planet.”
These efforts do not cover every single source of emissions linked to the World Cup. But they focus on the areas FIFA can control the most, where they can set clear and consistent standards across all host cities and stadiums.
Where the emissions actually come from
Stadiums usually get the most attention when people talk about sustainability at sporting events, but they are not the main source of World Cup emissions. FIFA is using energy-efficient stadiums powered by renewable energy, and importantly, no new stadiums are being built. The other side of that coin is that even if a stadium runs on 100% clean energy, it only makes up a small part of the total emissions reduction.
A bigger issue is everything happening around and outside the tournament. The World Cup involves huge amounts of travel, equipment, and services to accommodate 48 teams and millions of fans for 104 matches across 16 cities in three countries. That means more flights, more accommodation, more food services, and more broadcasting logistics — all of which increase emissions.
Especially in a large region like North America, where long-distance travel is taken by plane, emissions increase quickly as distances and scale grow. So, even if the stadiums are green, the overall event can still have a large carbon footprint because it involves much movement.
Can the World Cup really be sustainable?
At the venue level, sustainability is more easily achievable. Stadiums can be designed to use energy more efficiently, manage water better, recycle programs, and operate with lower day‑to‑day impacts during matches. In those areas, meaningful progress has already been made and will continue to improve over time.
However, at the tournament level, sustainability is more constrained. A World Cup is built around global mobility, large crowds, and dispersed locations, and those features shape its overall footprint.
Emissions are driven less by how efficiently individual assets perform and more by the scale, geography and movement the event creates.
In that sense, sustainability is not a simple yes‑or‑no question; it changes depending on what is being measured, and which parts of the system sit outside direct operational control.
Why this matters for major infrastructure and energy projects
The World Cup is a good example of how sustainability efforts work in big, complex infrastructure projects. Even when stadiums or venues are made more efficient, the bigger picture can still have a large environmental impact.
This is similar to other major infrastructure projects like transport systems, energy networks, or industrial developments. They often come up with ambitious sustainability goals, but a lot of their emissions come from wider system effects. That’s why it’s important to look at the full picture such as how big the project is, where the boundaries are, and what indirect environmental impacts it might create.
For large projects, the key is understanding where sustainability efforts will make a meaningful difference and where there are practical limits. Arche makes this happen by providing independent, engineering-driven technical advice on renewable energy, transportation, and large infrastructure projects to investors, developers, and government agencies.