Co-hosting tournaments spiking emissions, confirms UCC study

The study comes following Wednesday’s announcement that Saudi Arabia is to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, and ahead of the qualifying draw for the 2026 World Cup on Friday

Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, with Spain, Portugal and Morocco confirmed as the principal co-hosts of the 2030 tournament

An extensive UCC research study, led by footballer and graduate Conor McCarthy, has found that the move towards co-hosting major football tournaments is hiking emissions.

The travel-related environmental impact of international tournaments is getting progressively worse despite the advances in fuel efficiencies, according to the analysis from 30 years of data from World Cups and European Championships.