Sports | The impact of the climate crisis on the sports industry, from the African Cup to the Olympic Games – El Salto

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations will start in Ivory Coast on Saturday, January 13. Yes, there is no mistake: for commercial reasons, the original name of the tournament, which was supposed to be held last summer, was preserved, but was postponed to this time. Winter due to the risk of heavy rainfall in West Africa.

These are actually the dates when the weather is milder in this region, but for years, the most powerful clubs in Europe have lobbied the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to change the dates of the Cup from June to July from Africa, so that Juventus, Olympique de Marseille and their partners will not have to Giving away their Senegalese, Nigerian or Egyptian players for more than a month in the middle of the season.

With the mediation of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), which tried to unify the global football calendar and avoid conflicts, the first change was achieved in 2019, when the African Cup was held in Egypt during the months of June and July, and it was planned to repeat the dates for the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast. However, in West Africa, these months coincide with the rainy season and agencies consulted by CAF predicted heavy rains that year. “We cannot take this risk. January is not the ideal time for European clubs, but we have no other choice,” Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, said when announcing the change of dates to January and February of this year. Big clubs, FIFA and CAF could not be achieved due to the effects of climate change and Sadio Mane, Salah, Mahrez and Achraf Hakimi will compete in the continent's main national team tournament between January and February. African, with the consequent upset of Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and the other affected clubs.

The International Olympic Committee recently expressed concern about the consequences the climate crisis could have on the Winter Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee also recently expressed concern about the consequences the climate crisis could have on the Winter Olympics. After the scenes left behind by the 2022 Beijing Olympics, with skiers sliding down slopes filled with artificial snow that ended on either side of the course and surrounded by mountains without a single white flake, the Olympics' top leaders analyzed the impact the climate emergency could have for winter sports. “By mid-century, there will only be 10 to 12 national committees with the capacity to organize the Winter Olympics,” IOC President Thomas Bach said last October at the 141st IOC session in Mumbai, India. The Winter Paralympics are considered more risky, as they are traditionally held in March, when there is less snow in many potential places.

In December last year, the International Olympic Committee paralyzed the process of selecting bids to host the 2030 Games with the aim of better studying the effects of the environmental crisis. Among the options being considered are choosing three or four alternating venues or even the possibility of devoting one Olympic venue to different versions.

Strange allies

The consequences of the climate emergency are already affecting the organization of some of the biggest events in the sports industry, and at the same time, organizers are considering alternatives to avoid them. But it is still strange that the official name of the African Cup is TotalEnergies CAF AFCON, in reference to its main sponsor. Not only is the French petrochemical giant a regular sponsor of sporting and cultural events, it also racks up complaints about tax evasion and is among the world's most polluting companies.

Many companies that sponsor the Olympic Games have had pollution complaints filed by environmental NGOs

In the case of the International Olympic Committee, among the goals of its Olympic Agenda 2020 + 5 is the “urgent need to achieve sustainable development”, while companies with multiple accusations of pollution, such as Air France, Bridgestone or Coca-Cola, appear among the sponsors. In the upcoming Paris Olympics. In fact, many companies that sponsor the Olympics have had complaints about pollution caused by environmental NGOs.

FIFA also includes among its strategic objectives for the period 2023-2027 “a focus on social responsibilities, especially human rights and climate-related aspects,” but it has turned a deaf ear to the protests over hosting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and for the year 2026, FIFA has turned a deaf ear to the protests against organizing… World Cup 2022 in Qatar. It chose the United States among the organizers. Recently, the Swiss Fairness Commission, a non-judicial body responsible for receiving complaints alleging breaches of fairness in commercial communications, decided that FIFA had engaged in “misleading and unfair advertising” when it said the recent World Cup in Qatar was carbon neutral. Gianni Infantino, the head of world football's highest body, also likes to promote it.

Major sports organizations boast of their commitment to the environment, while accepting among their business partners some companies that contribute more to its pollution.

This situation is repeated repeatedly in various sports institutions, which indicates that Sports wash It is not a practice exclusive to countries or companies. Large organizations boast of their commitment to the environment, while accepting among their business partners some companies that contribute more to their pollution. At the same time, they are considering various measures to counter the effects of climate change on their major events. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has chosen to postpone the dates for the African Cup, even at the risk of maintaining tension with European leagues. The International Olympic Committee is considering reducing nominations for future games or rotating the stadiums. In both cases, these are measures to adapt to changing environmental conditions. They do not appreciate other types of measures aimed at stopping this phenomenon and thus protecting the natural contention of sporting events. “Our goal is to ensure that we can continue to hold successful Winter Olympic Games in the future,” explained the head of the IOC committee for future hosts of the Winter Olympics, Austrian Karl Stoss.

It is the same principle that Everton, the club owned by 777 Partners, followed when it launched its new stadium project on Liverpool's Bramley Moor Quay, on the banks of the River Mersey. A terrain that is particularly sensitive to climate change and for which environmental predictions for the next 100 years have been taken into account. The architectural company responsible for the project raised the stadium's base by more than a meter, in implementation of the recommendations of environmental experts. “Liverpool may sink, but the football stadium will still stand,” project director Colin Chung said at the time.