Football must do more to tackle climate change: this is how clubs and fans can help | Barney Weston

We are in ‘Fergie time’ when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint but it is not too late to chart a path to sustainability

Climate change is a defining global issue, and football is not exempt. Roughly a quarter of England’s 92 league clubs could be regularly flooded within the next three decades, and the average grassroots pitch in England already loses five weeks a season to bad weather. Sport is also a significant contributor to climate change, with an estimated global carbon footprint the equivalent size of Tunisia’s – and that is at the low end of estimates.

It’s tempting to ask fans to reduce our carbon bootprint – but how can we use public transport on matchdays, when it’s often too expensive and sometimes unavailable? There were no trains running from the north-west to Wembley when Liverpool and Manchester City competed in the FA Cup semi-final. The FA provided 100 buses, enough for 5,000 fans.