Football For Future: Driving Environmental Sustainability in Women's Football

In November 2022, FFF proudly submitted evidence on the interrelationship between environmental sustainability and climate change to the UK Government's landmark Future of Women's Football Review. Although the evidence wasn’t formally recognised in the final publication, we believe it is still relevant and we want to share it with our community.

Climate Change: A Challenge We Cannot Ignore

Climate change poses a significant and growing threat to all levels of football. Its effects – extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and environmental degradation – disrupt fixtures, increase injury risks, and undermine the financial health of the sport.

The women's game is not immune, and urgent action is needed to protect its future. If there are already inequalities between the men’s and women’s games, climate change will emphasise these, and things will likely worsen in the non-professional game. If there is limited access to a football pitch, who is likely to get first dibs?

Our Evidence of the Future of Women's Football Review

We argued the Review's focus on audience growth, commercialisation, and long-term structures could not be isolated from climate considerations. Here's why:

Fans Demand It: Sustainable practices will foster loyalty and attract new supporters, particularly among the young and socially conscious demographics crucial to the women's game. This YouGov survey shows that concern for the environment is at an all-time high amongst the British public. Within football, a recent survey of fans found 90% agreed on the importance of protecting the environment and fighting climate change.

Financial Risks: Climate change disrupts schedules, damages facilities, and will lead to rising costs. Specific examples within the women’s game include:

Tadcaster Albion AFC (who share a ground with Leeds United Women) have been flooded at least five times this season. To this day the club is operating out of a damp and mouldy clubhouse with insufficient flooring because they lack the finances required for repairs - caused by climate change.
Chelsea v Liverpool, a WSL fixture, was cancelled after 5 minutes due to a frozen pitch at Kingsmeadow.
A record-breaking heatwave arguably threatened the Lioness’s EURO-winning campaign when the squad were forced to adjust training times ahead of their quarter-final versus Spain, reaching highs of 40C one hour from where they were staying.

Fairness and Inclusion: Women's teams must be fully included in environmental strategies and access resilient facilities equally. This is often a simple, although damaging oversight that is caused by women's teams having to play at third-party stadiums. To make things worse, these stadiums are likely more susceptible to climate impact - as above - and will lead to the women’s game being disproportionately affected by cancellations, injuries, and more.

Football For Future: Committed to a Sustainable Sport

The beautiful game has a responsibility to lead in the fight against climate change. We are dedicated to partnering with governing bodies, clubs, and fans to ensure that women's football flourishes in a healthy and sustainable environment.

Let's build a better, greener future for the sport we love!