FIFA Talks A Big Game On Climate. The 2026 World Cup Will Double Qatar’s Emissions.

(SeaPRwire) –

FIFA has built its public brand around climate action over the last few years. It signed a high-profile pledge at COP26 back in 2021 to cut emissions in half by 2030. It says it will hit full carbon neutrality by 2040 under the U.N. Sports for Climate Action Framework. But the 2026 North America World Cup exposes how empty these pledges really are. A new independent assessment blows the lid off FIFA’s sustainability PR, showing the tournament’s emissions will hit historic highs no one in the organization wants to address publicly.

The 2026 World Cup is billed as the biggest tournament in FIFA history. It will host 48 teams playing 104 matches across 16 cities spread across the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Global carbon accounting platform Greenly estimates it will generate 7.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s more than double the official 3.8 million tons FIFA reported for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. That total matches the entire annual emissions of the country of Sierra Leone.

Most people assume stadiums and logistics drive most event emissions. That is not correct. Greenly’s data shows 87% of 2026’s emissions will come from spectator travel. International fans make up only 35% of expected attendance. They will generate 74% of all travel-related emissions, flying long distances between scattered venues. 2026 does outperform Qatar on one front: existing venues cut infrastructure emissions to just 3.1%, down from Qatar’s 24.6%.

FIFA got dragged into the spotlight over Qatar 2022, after falsely advertising it as carbon neutral. Watchdogs have long said FIFA’s own 3.8 million ton emission count for Qatar was heavily underestimated. That number was already higher than Iceland’s entire national emissions for 2022. When TIME asked FIFA for comment on Greenly’s 2026 estimates, it never got a response. FIFA’s 2026 sustainability plan does not even set a binding carbon target for the tournament.

FIFA’s only plan for spectator emissions is a vague line about encouraging more efficient flight routes. That is nowhere near enough, but there is a proven alternative that works. The 2024 Paris Olympics used the tournament as a catalyst to decarbonize. It upgraded rail networks, renovated stadiums to cut energy use, and reserved tickets for locals. Major events bring huge budgets that can fund long-term decarbonization for host cities. Organizers just have to choose to prioritize that goal over pure growth.

2026 will go down as another high-emission event that squandered its chance to move global sports toward net zero.