14/08/2026
Climate change keeps disrupting the 2026 sporting calendar, from snowmelt to extreme heat.
Now the South Korean FA has said "the K League must transition to the Fall-Spring schedule to protect players from the worsening climate crisis and punishing summer heat"
But what about sport’s own role in the climate crisis?
Sponsorship deals with clients like Riyadh Air and Aramco mean events like the World Cup and Winter Olympics often end up promoting the same emissions-heavy consumption that threatens their very existence.
Across both of these high profile events, we calculated the additional emissions that we would expect to see from such ‘high carbon sponsors’ achieving a standard business return on their sponsorship spending.
In the case of the World Cup, we estimated that deals with the four leading high-carbon sponsors – Aramco, Qatar Airways, Hyundai-Kia and American Airlines – would induce 42 million tonnes of CO2e (more than 4x the total for stadiums, flights, and operations combined).
Read our research in full in the comments.
South Korea football players push for a K League season shift as 'punishing heat' hitting summer matches.
