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FIFA World Cup to create wealth and CO2 unprecedented
Environmental scientists claim that the biggest and most lucrative World Cup ever this summer will also be the most polluted athletic event in history.
“Unlike the case of the Olympic Games, where the carbon footprints have been reducing over the last several editions, this is totally opposite in the case of FIFA men’s World Cup,” David Gogishvili, a geographer at the University of Lausanne (Unil), told AFP.
The summer’s World Cup is bigger than ever, with 48 teams for the first time. It will also for the first time be played in three countries – Mexico, Canada and the United States.
It will generate revenues on an unprecedented scale, but Unil’s research reveals it will “produce the largest carbon footprint in the history of international sport”.
Gogishvili continued: “Unil has calculated that emissions generated by CO2 will be between five and nine million tonnes, compared to “some 1.75 million tonnes” for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
That figure dwarfs the estimated 2.17m tonnes of CO2 produced by Russia in 2018, in a far-flung World Cup that included 40 fewer matches, and the 3.17m tonnes from Qatar in 2022, in a highly compact event condemned for its quickly built, oversized and air-conditioned stadiums.
All 16 venues for this summer, from the “smallest” in Toronto with 45,000 seats to the largest in Arlington, Texas, which has 94,000 seats, were already in place when the Games were given, a point made clear in 2018 by the “United 2026” bid.
The biggest problem is the great distance between stadiums.
Miami and Vancouver are over 4,500 km apart.
That will raise the main source of CO2 emissions for international events: plane travel for teams, officials, media and especially the “more than five million fans” targeted by FIFA.
At least Bosnia-Herzegovina will travel 5,040 km to play group games in Toronto, Los Angeles and eventually Seattle.
‘FIFA’s environmental denial
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who declared his “determination” to tackle climate change at COP26 in Glasgow, has vowed to “measure, reduce and offset” emissions linked to its World Cups.
FIFA, however, has shied away from making any promises for 2026, after being admonished in June 2023 by the Swiss Fairness Commission (CSL) for false promotion of the “climate neutrality” of the 2022 World Cup.
A strategy to lessen the impact of mega-competitions is to cut their size, said Gogishvili, who was trained as an environmental analyst. The International Olympic Committee has set a quota of 10,500 athletes for the Summer Games.
FIFA, a year after boosting its World Club Cup from seven to 32 teams, is doing the exact opposite by increasing its flagship tournament from 32 to 48 teams.
The climate cost of each international match, is “26 to 42 times greater than an elite match” at the country level, stated a 2025 analysis published by New Weather Institute think-tank.
“A single match in the final stages of the men’s World Cup is responsible for 44,000 to 72,000 tonnes of CO2,” the report’s authors from the British-based Scientists for Global Responsibility claimed.
That, they concluded, was the equivalent of the emissions of 31,500 to 51,500 British cars over a whole year.
“It’s a never-ending cycle of more athletes, more fans, more hotel infrastructure, more flights, because of FIFA’s insatiable appetite for growth,” Gogishvili added.
The 2030 World Cup will be played across three continents and six countries. It begins with three matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay before the competition heads to hosts Morocco, Spain and Portugal for the remaining 101 matches.
The 2034 World Cup will be in Saudi Arabia, a Qatar-like environment but 40 more games in a far bigger country. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil business, became a key FIFA sponsor in 2024.
“It looks like FIFA’s environmental denial will go on,” said Gilles Pache, professor at Aix-Marseille University, in the Journal of Management Research in 2024.
Bangladesh has said it is willing to consider joining a cooperative economic or defence framework with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
Bangladeshi media quoting an interview with Bangladesh’s Adviser for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir said Dhaka viewed positively the potential of entering an economic or defence framework with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.
Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia to set up political, military mechanisms for coordination under defence pact: Ankara
Humayun Kabir said the country would review the topic keeping in mind Bangladesh’s national interests, changing global economic environment and advancements in international commerce.
Bangladesh was establishing practical bilateral connections with Pakistan as part of its usual diplomatic activity, he said.
He said efforts were also underway to increase economic and people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi media reported that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will soon visit Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The administration of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) published a statement Friday about the treatment of the former prime minister Imran Khan, who was jailed but brought immediately from Adiala Jail late Thursday nite to the health facility.
The statement said the PTI founder was taken to the PIMS hospital on the intervening nite of August 20 and 21 and evaluated by the physicians. Two ophthalmologists from Shifa Hospital also checked him.
The statement stated an expert from PIMS hospital conducted a complete assessment of the PTI founder. He was then examined by a panel of PIMS doctors who prepared his medical fitness report.
PIMS administration said the details of the medical report could not be revealed in conformity with the judgement of the Supreme Court.
PIMS administration claimed that the anonymity of the patient and the directives of the Supreme Court would be fully maintained and the secret contents of the medical report would not be disclosed.
Earlier on Friday, Attaullah Tarar claimed PTI founder Imran Khan was transferred to hospital for a complete medical examination under proper security precautions after a Supreme Court judgement.
In a statement posted on X, Tarar stated Khan had been brought to hospital overnight between August 20 and 21, 2026.
He said the team of qualified experts including specialists of ophthalmology, cardiology and general medicine carried out a thorough assessment of the former prime minister and deemed him medically fit.
“During the entire process of medical examination and treatment, Khan was accompanied by her sister Uzma Khan,” Tarar stated.
Khan was sent returned to Adiala Jail at roughly 5:00am on August 21 after the medical treatments were completed, the ministry added.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Supreme Court had ordered the government to transfer Khan from jail to hospital.
The three-judge bench ordered that Khan be transferred to the Shifa Hospital in the federal capital within the next 48 hours.
The government had filed a review petition but the the Supreme Court Registrar’s Office objected the review petition and returned it.
The Registrar’s office said the petition was filed with incomplete record.
The Islamabad chief commissioner through the Islamabad attorney general filed the plea for review of the Supreme Court’s interim ruling of August 18.
The government contended that the order for shifting Imran Khan to hospital was outside the court’s jurisdiction and required re-consideration.
Pakistan Test cricket team skipper Salman Ali Agha has admitted that he, Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel have been having form issues and added that the performances of all three players are a worry.
Salman Ali Agha, following the team’s loss in the first Test, at a press conference remarked that Pakistan’s failure to maintain consistency will be a key factor in their inability to win in England.
He said any team in cricket can bounce back on any given day and Pakistan have the capability to bounce back but they could not execute their plans in the first Test.
Pakistan are currently playing a three-match Test series against England as part of the ICC World Test Championship. England lead the series 1-0 after winning the first Test at Headingley, Leeds by an innings and 103 runs on August 21, 2026.
The second Test match will start on 27 August 2026 at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London while the final match would be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from 9 to 13 September. For tour team arrangements, Pakistan will try to rebound back from their crushing defeat in Leeds.
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