FIFA Congress
8 things to look out for
Wherever you are in the world right now, there will be a representative from the national football association heading to the FIFA Congress.
It’s the annual meeting of all 200+ national football bodies from around the world. This time it is in Bangkok, Thailand and it kicks-off on Friday. The agenda is here.
Lots of attention is rightly focused on the vote to decide who will host the Women’s World Cup in 2027. In addition, there are several other issues to look out for. Here is a list in no particular order. If you know of others, please say.
1. The recent record-breaking heatwave in Thailand
The ‘feels like’ temperature in Bangkok on Friday could reach 36°C. A new report says Thailand, “is currently experiencing a barrage of record-breaking heat since March”. This has already claimed 61 lives this year, more than twice that for the whole of 2023 and “Midday apparent temperatures … have regularly been above 50 degrees”. This year is not a one off, by 2050, every child in Thailand will be affected by climate change.
Will we hear any acknowledgements at FIFA Congress of the climate challenges the people of Thailand are facing? How is football there being affected? What’s its future?
2. The Women’s World Cup 2027 hosting decision
There are two bids to host the tournament which will be put to a vote. They are a Brazil bid and a joint Belgium-Netherlands-Germany (BNG) bid. This newsletter had an initial look at the bids here. Since then, FIFA’s bid evaluation report looking at all aspects of the bids has been published. It has given the Brazil bid an overall average score of 4.0 out of 5, and the BNG bid 3.7.
The BNG bid is rated low-risk in the FIFA evaluation on both sustainability and environmental protection criteria, while the Brazil bid is rated low-risk on sustainability but medium-risk on environmental protection. Elsewhere in the evaluation report, FIFA’s evaluation contains minimal attention to the risks of potential extreme weather to event hosting.
How will bidders present their environmental credentials at Congress? And how will this inform and impact the voting decisions of member associations?
3. The Pre-Congress Football Tournament
Tomorrow, before Congress starts, there is a pre-Congress delegation football tournament. The last tournament included participation by political and FIFA leaders.
The 'feels like' afternoon temperature in Bangkok then is forecast at 37°C. FIFPRO, the players’ body, advises that at more than 32°C, matches for professional players should be rescheduled - good advice for dignitaries and football administrators too.
Going ahead, if temperatures are as forecast, could be a risk to the health of those taking part, and set an unwelcome example to the rest of football about conditions to play in.
4. The floods in Brazil
The historic floods in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Brazil have left at least 147 dead, and 2 million people displaced.
Football in the region of Brazil has come to halt with almost 90 games already postponed. An initial cost estimate to one of the clubs in the affected region is said to be over £6.3 million. Costs to the affected region will multiple times higher.
Most top clubs want the whole league to be postponed for a couple of weeks. Any decision to do so sits with the CFB President who is at FIFA Congress. Any rescheduling of club games in Brazil may involve some players playing these club matches on calendar dates allocated to FIFA games. [UPDATE: Shortly after this post was published it was announced that the CBF had suspended club football in Brazil for two rounds].
FIFA has not yet said anything about these floods, whether generally or in relation to football. Will we hear FIFA or others attending Congress voice their support for the people and clubs of Rio Grande du Sol, make donations, or agree actions that help? What’s FIFA’s view on the potential calendar impacts?
5. Aramco’s involvement
Aramco, the world’s largest fossil fuel company, has recently been announced as the major worldwide partner of FIFA with rights across events including the Men’s World Cup 26 and Women’s World Cup 2027. The BBC has said that “The sponsorship deal with Aramco … raises further questions about world governing body Fifa's climate impact”. Many organisations have spoken out against FIFA’s partnership with the company.
Will Aramco be at the Congress? What communications will there be about the FIFA-Aramco partnership? And what are delegates views on it?
6. The new framework for ‘out-of-territory games’
Ahead of the FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council of 37 members has just met. One of its decisions was to create a new working group to recommend rule changes on out-of-territory matches.
This could lead to new rules being formed for domestic club matches to be played in another country. More international travel for games would lead to more emissions. The working group will look at several ‘key considerations’ - but environmental impacts is not on the list of those.
Will we hear more on what Congress attendees want from this working group? Will any voices be raised about the omission of environmental impacts from the considerations?
7. Views on the football calendar
FIFA is having an open public argument with FIFPRO, the footballers body, and the World Leagues Association (WLA) over the future of the world football calendar. FIFPRO and the WLA have called on FIFA to reschedule the 32-team Club World Cup saying FIFA is abusing a dominant position and the amount of games is impacting the welfare of players. Following this, FIFA have responded furiously to the threats.
The issue is wider than just the Club World Cup, as other tournaments are also being added to the calendar and expanded in scope. Fossil Free Football points out that: “Ongoing addition of matches … expands football’s deep environmental impact just as it must be cut back. More and bigger international tournaments means more polluting flights.”
Will we hear views from Congress attendees on the football calendar?
8. The publication of overdue FIFA Reports
This one is a long-shot. FIFA’s climate strategy set out four important sustainability related reports that were originally due to be published in 2023. This includes two follow-up reports on the men’s World Cup 2022 in Qatar, one on the World Cup 2026 Sustainability Strategy, and also a bi-annual climate progress report.
Will we learn any more about the progress and timing of these reports during Congress?
That’t the lot. Anything I’ve missed? I’ll aim to take a a look at what was and was not said in a future newsletter post.
Fran James (he/him)
Football and Climate Change Newsletter
footballandclimatechange@gmail.com
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