Playing Planet Climate Cost: UEFA's Growth Plan

The report finds that the expansion of the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League has increased greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 209,000 tCO2e. Furthermore, it estimates that sponsorship deals for the Champions League induce about 6 million tCO2e, with a single deal with Qatar Airways accounting for two-thirds of that total.

• The expansion of the number of matches per season across the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League has resulted in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 209,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), which is comparable to the annual emissions of nearly 150,000 average cars.
• Induced greenhouse gas emissions from Champions League sponsorship deals are estimated at 6 million tCO2e, a figure more than three times higher than the match-related emissions for all three competitions combined. Two-thirds of these induced emissions are attributed to a single sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways.

APA

Daley, F., & Parkinson, D. S. (2025). Playing Planet Climate Cost: UEFA's Growth Plan. Scientists for Global Responsibility. https://www.sgr.org.uk/publications/playing-planet-climate-cost-uefa-s-growth-plan

Chicago

Daley, Freddie, and Dr Stuart Parkinson. Playing Planet Climate Cost: UEFA's Growth Plan. Scientists for Global Responsibility, 2025. https://www.sgr.org.uk/publications/playing-planet-climate-cost-uefa-s-growth-plan.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Daley |first1=Freddie |last2=Parkinson |first2=Dr Stuart |title=Playing Planet Climate Cost: UEFA's Growth Plan |publisher=Scientists for Global Responsibility |date=1 May 2025 |url=https://www.sgr.org.uk/publications/playing-planet-climate-cost-uefa-s-growth-plan |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{daley2025playing, author = {Daley, Freddie and Parkinson, Dr Stuart}, title = {{Playing Planet Climate Cost: UEFA's Growth Plan}}, institution = {Scientists for Global Responsibility}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://www.sgr.org.uk/publications/playing-planet-climate-cost-uefa-s-growth-plan}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }