Independent analysis at the intersection of football and climate change
This newsletter was born on a sweltering August day in 2022 - Brentford vs Manchester United, played in some of the hottest temperatures on record for a Premier League match. Around the same time, my son’s youth team was having training sessions and fixtures called off because of extreme weather. Those experiences sparked a question I couldn’t stop asking: what is the relationship between the game I love and the climate change unfolding around it?
Three years on, that question has grown into something larger. What started as a way of making sense of a scattered landscape has become a space for independent analysis, policy engagement, and original research. The newsletter covers both directions of the relationship: how climate change is impacting football - on the pitch, in the stands, and across the infrastructure of the game - and how football, through its choices about competition formats, travel, venues, and governance, contributes to the problem.
What you’ll find here
The newsletter has several strands:
Long-read analysis - in-depth posts examining governance, strategy, accountability and policy, drawing on primary sources and engaging directly with the documents and decisions that shape how football responds to the climate crisis.
News and developments - ocassional roundups of the latest stories from across the global game.
Guest posts - contributions from practitioners, researchers, and professionals working at the intersection of football and sustainability, including professional footballers, academics, and specialists in carbon accounting and club strategy.
Resources - a curated reference page covering international bodies, clubs, fan groups, reports, academic research, podcasts and more.
Coverage is global in scope, though the English game features prominently given that’s where I’m based. Analysis has been cited and covered by outlets including BusinessGreen and Edie.
Who writes it
I’m Fran James. My background is in policy, strategy and research, and I bring that lens to this subject - asking not just what is happening, but whether it is credible, whether it is sufficient, and what the evidence actually says. I work independently, with no funding from clubs, governing bodies, or industry.
The newsletter is free and open to all. If you find it useful, you can support it with a contribution here.
Fran James (he/him)
Football and Climate Change Newsletter
info@footballandclimate.org
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