This week, FIFA has come under fire for trying to privatise the World Cup. And now, FIFA president Infantino aims to rush through an expansion of the 2030 World Cup to a whopping 64 teams. This is a short-sighted, money-making, climate-wrecking plan. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Fifa rapidly accelerates plan to expand World Cup to 64 teams from 2030 tournament

Fifa has accelerated plans to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams and opened a tender to research companies to assess the economic benefits quickly

theguardian.com

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing heavy leadership challenges after he ditched his controversial World Cup sell-off plan. 💰 Now more than ever, FIFA must drop their polluting sponsors and start protecting the future of football.  www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Gianni Infantino ‘has lost Uefa’s confidence’ after Fifa chief scraps World Cup sell-off plan

Gianni Infantino ‘has lost the confidence’ of Uefa following his aborted project to sell off the World Cup to private investors, European football’s governing body has said

theguardian.com

⏪ This week Ekaterina Alexandrova collapsed in 34C heat at the Memphis Classic. This marks the third high-profile heat safety incident in elite tennis this year. 🧵 1/6

Ekaterina Alexandrova: Russian tennis player collapses on court amid 34C heat

World number 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova collapses on court and had to retire from her first-round match at the Memphis Classic due to high temperatures.

bbc.com

Athletes are among society's most influential. Yet, despite caring deeply about the climate crisis, many feel unable to speak out. In a pioneering new programme, Oxford University is helping athletes step into climate leadership. 👇 Share the application 👉 leadership.climate.ox.ac.uk/join-us/

Why athletes could be the next generation of climate leaders — Cool Down

The Oxford Climate Leadership Research Centre is recruiting a cohort of influential athletes who want to use their platform to inspire climate action.

cooldownclimate.org

No one owns football. It is the common property of humanity. FIFA plans to sell off its tournaments to private equity. It is not FIFA's to sell. Our statement: rebootfifa.com/news/reboot-...

🚨 The World Cup is officially for sale. 🏆💰 Fifa President Gianni Infantino is trying to sell a 20% stake in Fifa competitions to private investors. Here's how FIFA corruption, a strange orange man and petrostates all intersect. 🧵 1/9

Fifa World Cup plans: First lot of private cash could be received by end of October

Fifa could bank first lot of private World Cup cash by end of October as European football's governing body Uefa will hold a meeting of all 55 member associations on Thursday afternoon to discuss its ...

bbc.com

NEW PIECE: Spain's World Cup quarter-final began with a minute's silence for victims of deadly wildfires. Seconds later, screens lit up with Aramco's branding. As fossil fuelled wildfires raged back home, Spain's young stars were used to sell more oil. 🧵 1/6

As fossil fuelled heatwaves and wildfires kill back home, Spain’s young stars are being used to sell more oil — Cool Down

The stadium fell silent in memory of wildfire victims before Spain’s World Cup quarter final. Seconds later, giant screens lit up in the green and blue branding of Aramco, the world’s biggest oil comp...

cooldownclimate.org

The 2026 World Cup directly increased demand for fossil fuels. In a new report, the World Cup is revealed to have increased the brand value of the world's largest fossil fuel company by 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗦 𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀. Here's the story. 🧵 1/6 maaal.com/en/news/deta...

2026 World Cup Sponsors Achieve $61 Billion in Brand Value from $2.8 Billion in Sponsorship Investments

A private deal was executed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) today, Wednesday, involving 327,034 shares of the National Commercial Bank (SNB) at a…

maaal.com

"Concerning the climate crisis... there is a rule of silence, as deeply rooted in cycling culture as the old omertá about doping.” In a seismic interview, a pro cyclist speaks out - under condition of anonymity - on the sport's fossil fuel sponsor problem. 🧵 1/6

Pro cyclist opens up about fossil fuel sponsorship amid sweltering Tour

Cycling, with its shady, drug-suffused past, has a long history of awkward silences and unfathomable omissions. As the world warms and blistering temperatures affect the Tour de France, an eerily fami...

cyclingweekly.com

Spain may have lifted the trophy, but the real World Cup winners are the polluting companies whose adverts filled every stadium during the tournament.  www.cooldownclimate.org/latest/world...

WORLD CUP 2026: a tournament we can't ignore — Cool Down

Here’s all the resources you need to get clued up on the most polluting World Cup ever.

cooldownclimate.org

When Hurricane Melissa hit Haiti, football pitches became emergency hubs. Not because of the grass. But because of the trust built there over years. A powerful piece from Kathy McAllister of @goalshaiti on why sport is about far more than sport. 👇 1/6 www.cooldownclimate.org/latest/when-...

When the storm came, trust was our greatest asset — Cool Down

Kathy McAllister, executive director of GOALS Haiti, describes life after Hurricane Melissa, the recovery for grassroots sport and the power of trust.

cooldownclimate.org

In a historic first, a recent stage of the Tour de France was shortened due to extreme heat. 🔥🚴‍♂️ Yet the tournament is still sponsored by polluting industries fuelling this crisis. ⛽️ www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/j...

Tadej Pogacar urges radical overhaul of Tour de France amid stifling heatwave

Tadej Pogacar called for radical change to the professional racing calendar after another day of stifling temperatures, as Mathieu van der Poel won the ninth stage

theguardian.com

🚨 NEW REPORT: FIFA's World Cup isn't only promoting fossil fuels. It's also promoting aviation. Our new briefing estimates FIFA's sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways could induce 3.7 million tonnes of CO₂e in additional greenhouse gas emissions. www.cooldownclimate.org/latest/the-w...

The World Cup's biggest climate cost isn't the tournament - it's the sponsors — Cool Down

New analysis finds that FIFA's deals with just four high-carbon sponsors - led by fossil fuel giant Aramco - could drive over four times more climate pollution than the tournament itself.

cooldownclimate.org

🚨 NEW REPORT: FIFA's biggest climate impact isn't flights or stadiums. It's promoting polluters. Our new briefing finds FIFA's deal with Aramco alone is estimated to induce 34.7 million tonnes of CO₂e – almost 4x the emissions of the entire World Cup. www.cooldownclimate.org/latest/the-w...

The World Cup's biggest climate cost isn't the tournament - it's the sponsors — Cool Down

New analysis finds that FIFA's deals with just four high-carbon sponsors - led by fossil fuel giant Aramco - could drive over four times more climate pollution than the tournament itself.

cooldownclimate.org

In his latest film for The New Weather Institute and The Cool Down Network, Matt Rendell tells the story that lead to FC Barcelona cutting ties with their high-polluting, socially divisive oil company Gran Tierra Energy. youtu.be/rEkSyLcbjuQ

Barćawash

YouTube video by Badvertising

youtu.be

As mega polluter and World Cup sponsor Saudi Aramco covers Houston with their adverts, their oil refinery in another Texas city is poisoning local communities. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

‘This is a hellhole’: Aramco makes its presence hurt in the shadow of the World Cup

The oil giant’s sponsorship deal with Fifa has featured prominently at matches in Houston. But 100 miles away in another Texas city, residents say the firm’s refinery is exposing them to poisonous gas...

theguardian.com

Coming soon - “Barçawash”, a new investigative film from Matt Rendell. Around the world, FC Barcelona’s charitable wing uses sport as a tool to support vulnerable children and young people. But its good work is undermined by its partnerships with mega polluters.

From the top down, this World Cup is the most polluting ever. ⚽💨 Fifa president Gianni Infantino has already spent 66 hours in his private jet. The climate impact? Roughly equivalent to the emissions of 78 ordinary people over an 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿... In two weeks. 😬

World Cup 2026: How Fifa president Gianni Infantino is jetting around

Gianni Infantino has clocked up thousands of air miles across North America so far.

bbc.co.uk

Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia is the David vs Goliath game of the 2026 World Cup. ⚽️ The small island nation is highly vulnerable to climate impacts, and this weekend they face a petrostate whose oil company is sponsoring the tournament. 👉Learn more at www.cooldownclimate.org

An association of London cabbies are calling on Wimbledon organisers to swap their SUV fleet for existing transport options.  The LTDA’s calls came amid rising concerns about the safety risks these high-carbon vehicles pose on our streets.  www.thetimes.com/uk/london/ar...

London cabbies tell Wimbledon to ditch ‘unsafe’ SUVs for player transport

A taxi drivers’ association urges the All England Lawn Tennis Club to recognise growing concerns about the vehicles

thetimes.com

𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗔𝗜𝗚𝗡 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘: Baroness Natalie Bennett tabled amendments to ban fossil fuelled sports sponsorship. ⚽️💨 "With this bill, we have the opportunity to ensure that the biggest events in this country that we host do not become a vehicle for greenwashing." (1/5) @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social

🚨 New analysis finds that two World Cup matches have already been played in dangerous heat. The games were played in temperatures that FIFPro - the players' union - have said should mean they were delayed or postponed. (1/6)

Two World Cup matches were played in ‘severe heat’, analysis finds

Games in Miami and Monterrey were at heat level a players’ union had warned in the past should trigger delays

theguardian.com

🚨 Fifa President Gianni Infantino using private jet to watch two World Cup matches per day. This is an absurd 'solution' to an equally absurd problem - the World Cup taking place across three countries. 🧵 1/7

Infantino using private jet in attempt to watch two World Cup matches per day

Fifa president sets gruelling itinerary across North America in a World Cup expected to generate about 9m tons of carbon dioxide

theguardian.com

As the first full week of the 2026 World Cup begins, labour advocates and researchers are warning extreme heat is putting workers at risk.  Yet FIFA is still partnering with the high-polluting company responsible for these sweltering temperatures.  www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

‘It’s going to be extremely hot’: workers imperiled as sweltering World Cup temperatures are forecast

It could top 90F in several cities hosting World Cup games – and workers could pay the price with their health

theguardian.com

It’s day one of the 2026 World Cup. ⚽️ And FIFA and Aramco remain committed to polluting the beautiful game. 💨 Watch our short film “Love Football, Hate Pollution” to hear from fans about their earliest memories of football against a backdrop of climate inaction from FIFA.👇

🚨 The 2026 World Cup kicks off tomorrow. But behind the sporting spectacle this year looms the threat of extreme weather and a fossil fuel giant sponsor. 📺💨 We've pulled together the evidence and resources you need to understand what's at stake. 🧵 1/8

WORLD CUP 2026: a tournament we can't ignore — Cool Down

Here’s all the resources you need to get clued up on the most polluting World Cup ever.

cooldownclimate.org

📢 This morning, Cool Down's Freddie Daley spoke to the BBC about the World Cup's climate impact. 🏆💨 With an additional 40 matches spread across three countries and an oil company sponsor - it will be the most polluting on record. Report and more: www.cooldownclimate.org/latest/world...

BREAKING: Fifa bans water bottles at the 2026 World Cup despite expected extreme heat. Fifa continues to act in a climate-deaf fashion, putting the health of players, fans, and workers at risk. 🧵 1/6 www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

World Cup 2026: Heat experts warn 'reckless' Fifa of bottle ban health risk

Fans will not be allowed to take reusable water bottles into World Cup stadiums due to safety concerns, Fifa says in a late policy change.

bbc.com

🚨 Sportswash Alert! 🚨 Roland Garros, the pinnacle of French tennis, is underway. So far, the intense heat has distracted from the intensity of the competition. But the event is still promotes Emirates. Yes, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 oil-state owned airline. 🧵 1/7

French Open Descends Into Hellish Nightmare Thanks to Climate Change

Tennis champions are dropping like flies at the French Open as record spring heat scorches the European continent.

futurism.com