Clubs hold greener games for Green Football Weekend

She Kicks Magazine

·3 February 2023

Clubs hold greener games for Green Football Weekend

Tottenham Hotspur defender Amy Turner, who took part in the making of the Green Football Cup.

Clubs vie for top spot in the Green Football Cup table as teams hold greener games for Green Football Weekend.

OneFootball Videos

More than 16,000 green goals have so far been scored by fans hoping to see their club bring home the Green Football Cup in a nationwide competition that culminates this coming Sunday as part of Green Football Weekend.

Manchester United currently holds a commanding lead, followed by Leicester City, in a league decided by fans scoring goals by taking climate-friendly actions, including taking shorter showers, eating more vegetarian meals and telling their clubs what they’d like them to do to go greener. Leeds United, Chelsea and Port Vale are following close behind in the table.

This coming weekend, top clubs will join their fans to take action on tackling climate change and protecting nature.

Southampton FC Women will be offering free tasters of vegan food, giving out wildflower seeds, car sharing to the game, and running education sessions with the team on sustainability.
Aston Villa Women are delivering Green Football Weekend lessons in primary schools.

Rainforest Trust UK are asking supporters to save a football pitch of rainforest for every goal scored through their online fundraising campaign, and have already received pledges that will protect 142 football pitches in the Brazilian Amazon every time a goal is scored over the Green Football Weekend.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Amy Turner, who took part in the making of the Green Football Cup, said: “I’m really proud that Tottenham Hotspur is backing Green Football Weekend and takes environmental sustainability so seriously. Clubs have such an important role to play in driving progress on climate change, and there’s so much for us all to do. It’s exciting to see Green Football Weekend bringing together the power of fans and clubs together to take action and make a difference. That’s how we can have real impact.”

Sarah Jacobs from Green Football Weekend said: “Climate change is already having dire consequences for football, from flooded pitches to sweltering summer temperatures. Football clubs and fans have a critical role to play in protecting our world. It’s brilliant to see the power of fan action inspiring clubs and the whole football community to be more ambitious.

“There’s still a huge amount that needs to happen – including clubs travelling sustainably to nearby matches becoming the norm – but this is very much a journey. Green Football Weekend – which is set to be the first of an annual event – is bringing everybody together to raise collective ambition, generate momentum, and start to demonstrate what football can achieve when it puts sustainability the heart of what it does.”

On Wednesday this week Sky pundits Jamie Carragher and Karen Carney challenged BT Sport’s Robbie Savage and Steve McManaman to Green Football Weekend’s Layer Up Challenge to put on as many tops as possible in 30 seconds – with the BT Sport team pipping Sky to the post by two tops. The broadcasters are working together for Green Football Weekend, hoping a collaborative approach will help engage more fans across the country.

Amazing prizes are up for grabs for anybody taking part in Green Football Weekend, including a Sky Glass TV, signed men’s and women’s England shirts, tickets to Premier League Games, the Championship and Papa John’s finals, a voucher for a National Trust holiday cottage, tickets to the Football Supporters Association Awards, Football Manager 23 game codes and BT Sport App passes. Throughout the tournament, fans can choose which green goals to score and track the progress of their club via the live leaderboard at greenfootballweekend.com.

It is estimated 23 out of the 92 Football League clubs in the UK can expect total or partial annual flooding of their stadiums by 2050. UK football fans making small changes to their habits could make a huge difference:

If the UK’s 31 million football fans buy second-hand or vintage clothes rather than new, they would save the same amount of carbon as planting 43.3 million trees per year.
If they reduced their shower length to four minutes, they would save carbon equivalent to planting 58.9 million trees per year.

Fans can also save money by making small changes. By turning down the thermostat by one degree, reducing shower time to four minutes and eating veggie two days per week, they could reduce their household bill by up to £728

Green Football Weekend is powered by Sky Sports, BT Sport, the Football Supporters Association, Pledgeball, Planet League, First News and Count Us In. It is supported by the EFL, WSL and the FA.