Voix du Paysan: Informing and Educating Citizens for Social and Climate Justice
The organization of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will bring together 48 teams for the first time across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, is raising serious environmental concerns due to the enormous distances that teams—and especially supporters—will have to travel. Although FIFA has regionalized part of the group-stage matches to reduce travel between the east and west coasts of North America, some journeys remain exceptionally long. The most striking example concerns Group B, where supporters of the UEFA play-off winner, potentially Wales or Northern Ireland, will have to travel more than 5,050 kilometers between Toronto, Inglewood, and Seattle to attend their team’s three group-stage matches.
Travel calculations show that South African supporters will be among the most affected by this geographical configuration. To follow their national team during the group stage alone, they will need to travel at least 33,941 kilometers, a distance that could reach 36,634 kilometers if their team tops its group and advances all the way to the final. If South Africa were to reach the final as the runner-up of its group, the total distance would rise to 43,189 kilometers. These journeys would generate approximately 4.7 tonnes of CO₂ per supporter during the group stage and up to 5.9 tonnes in the longest possible scenario. This figure is particularly striking when compared with the average annual emissions of a South African citizen, estimated at 5.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent according to the International Energy Agency.
Among the major football nations, Germany is also one of the countries whose supporters will face some of the longest travel distances. A victorious run to the final would require at least 28,867 kilometers of travel and generate around 3.2 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per supporter, while a route to the final as group runner-up would amount to 31,824 kilometers and nearly 3.5 tonnes of CO₂. By contrast, France appears to be one of the most logistically advantaged teams, with only 595 kilometers of travel estimated during the group stage, excluding international flights, and the possibility of completing some journeys by train between host cities.
These figures highlight the major challenge facing FIFA: how to reconcile the spectacular expansion of the World Cup with the environmental imperatives of a planet increasingly concerned about greenhouse gas emissions.
Editorial Team
FIFA World Cup 2026: When the Biggest Celebration of Global Football Could Also Become One of the Most Polluting Sporting Events in History
