Can Women’s Euro 2025 Balance Growth, Sustainability And Climate Risk?
As UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 kicks off in Switzerland today, the spotlight is on more than just athletic excellence on the pitch. With temperatures in Basel forecast to reach 93°F, organisers are facing an early test in climate responsiveness, having already relaxed stadium policies to allow reusable water bottles during heat warnings on July 2 and 3.
This immediate weather disruption reflects a larger story, climate risk is now a central challenge for global sports tournaments. From Wimbledon recording their hottest ever opening day this week, to thunderstorm and lightning-driven challenges at the FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S., elite sports are increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather, with serious implications for player safety, fan experience, broadcasting, and commercial value.
At the same time, women’s soccer is on a sharp growth trajectory. It could become a top five global sport by 2030, rivalling the likes of Formula 1 and tennis, a recent report projected. The associated commercial momentum brings opportunity, but also responsibility. As parity with men’s soccer is pursued, Women’s Euro 2025 serves as a litmus test for whether women’s mega tournaments can scale sustainably, without inheriting the same climate blind spots as their men’s tournament counterparts.
Wales defender and member of the country’s Euro 2025 squad, Hayley Ladd, told me recently, “there are still big differences between the landscapes of men’s and women’s football, so it’s hard to compare directly, but it does seem like women’s football audiences have a real appetite for supporting environmental sustainability.” Women’s Euro 2025 is one-quarter the size of the 2024 Men’s Euros when it comes to spectators, with the former selling 600,000 tickets so far of the 677,000 available, versus 2.7 million for the latter.
Scale isn’t the only metric of success. What is becoming just as critical in the current climate landscape, is how organisers, host cities, national associations, and sponsors are embedding environmental strategy into every layer of tournament delivery. This provides insight into how elite sports events are navigating the intersection of climate risk, sustainability, and commercial opportunity. So what are organisers and national soccer associations doing to take action on environmental sustainability, to help mitigate these issues on the ground, and how are players and teams responding?
What UEFA And Host Cities Are Doing On Sustainability for Euro 2025
“Football is also more than about goals. We are committed to integrating ESG factors as a key contributing factor to the tournament’s success,” shared UEFA’s social and environmental sustainability director, Michele Uva at the release of their environmental, social and governance strategy in October 2024.
The Wales national soccer association have developing their first ever tournament-specific sustainability strategy, focussed on how to embed more sustainable practices across everything they do for the tournament. The environment pillar focusses on smart mobility and circularity within operations and resource management. These efforts apply to players and staff, as well as advocacy efforts directed at fans.
Staff have been provided with sustainable travel guidelines and key performance indicators of low-carbon travel options such as electric or hybrid buses and cars, public transport and bikes. Hotels have been chosen with energy efficiency and renewables in mind, locally sourced food options will be chosen at the team hotel. The team has been given their own reusable water bottles. They are also uniting with indigenous women in Brazil and Peru to safeguard tropical forests.
What Players Are Saying?
There has been plenty of progress on environmental sustainability in soccer, “but it needs to be more consistently applied, across federation, confederation, club, and league levels,” Wales defender and member of the country’s Euro 2025 squad, Hayley Ladd, told me recently. “There needs to be a more overt commitment to prioritising sustainability, even if at times it challenges some of the business models of those clubs.”
In terms of how environmental sustainability at the 2025 Women’s Euros is shaping up, she went 0n, “it would be a shame not to lead the way here. Even if it’s just a few standout metrics or strategies that outperform previous tournaments, it could push the boundaries for the wider game.” She wants to see these efforts grow, confirming, “certainly, as a player on the ground, I’d love to see more visible application of environmental sustainability.”
Ladd is a particularly engaged soccer player on this issue, but she is not alone. Other players involved in the tournament have spoken out and taken action previously. Italy captain Elena Linari, was part of a group of soccer players at FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 that offset the carbon emissions of their flights to Australia. Netherlands player Vivianne Miedema and England’s Niamh Charles were part of a group that signed an open petition letter to FIFA in 2024. They pushed back on the newly inked partnership with oil and gas company Aramco, citing the company’s impact on the climate crisis and human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.
The Women’s EURO 2025 is unfolding within a climate-stressed Europe. As heatwaves, travel emissions, and player advocacy converge, the decisions made in Switzerland could shape the blueprint for how the women’s game balances rapid growth with environmental responsibility. With low-carbon travel incentives, fan walks, and organisers, host cities, national teams, fans and partners all playing a role, the tournament may yet chart a more sustainable path forward. Whether tournament organisers globally can scale women’s soccer and sport, without replicating the environmental missteps of the men’s game, will be a defining question. Not just for this summer, but for the future of sports.
