Tottenham Hotspur will host the world’s first net-zero carbon football match when the London club welcomes rivals Chelsea on 19 September to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs have teamed up with Sky and the home game against Chelsea is aiming to be net-zero, through emissions reductions and offsetting the remaining carbon footprint through reforestation projects.
The Tottenham Hotspur players will travel to the match together – just on measure the club has put in place to try and make its match against Chelsea.
Spurs players will travel together – just one measure the club has put in place to make the match net-zero
This includes using public transport or cycling to the match, choosing plant-based food options and recycling waste.
Fans will be asked to travel to the match on 19 September using public transport and to recycle while in the stadium.
The project has been called #GameZero and aims to educate football fans on the role of sport in addressing climate change.
For the match to be net-zero, Sky and Spurs will aim to minimise match day emissions activity such as energy used to power the game, travel to and from the stadium for both fans and clubs, and food options at the stadium.
Tottenham players will travel to the match by coach to reduce the number of cars, and Chelsea will ask staff to travel to the game using sustainable methods.
Both teams will head to the stadium on a coach that uses biofuel, which is a form of renewable diesel produced from food waste products and the players will be drinking water from cartons provided by Spurs as opposed to plastic bottles.
Earlier this year, Tottenham Hotspur was named the Premier League’s greenest club at the UN-backed Sport Positive Summit.
The club and Sky Sports are both signatories of the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and both are founding partners of Count Us In – a global movement aimed at mobilising one billion people in the fight against climate change.
Spurs’ match against Chelsea will take place six weeks before COP26, the UN climate change conference which is being hosted by the UK in Glasgow.
Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy said: “Tottenham Hotspur is passionate about our planet – we look forward to showcasing our wide range of sustainable measures that are already in place and encouraging our fans to take simple actions that can make a huge difference.”
COP26 president Alok Sharma said: “Climate change affects every aspect of our lives, including the sports that we love to watch and play.
“We can all take steps to help protect the planet for future generations, including in major sporting events.”
