FIFA, the world governing body of football, falsely advertised that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was climate-neutral. This is the conclusion reached by the Swiss Fair Trade Commission (SLK). She approved five complaints from Switzerland, France, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands, she reported on Wednesday.
The SLK is a self-regulatory body of the communications industry. It adheres to the requirements of the Marketing and Advertising Code of the International Chamber of Commerce ICC. It can make recommendations, but not impose sentences. The decision was not final, she said.
"Misleading impression"
FIFA has given the "false and misleading impression" that the World Cup in Qatar was already climate and CO2 neutral before and during the tournament, the Commission complains. "The SLK concludes that it cannot be claimed that sustainability goals have been achieved until there are definitive and generally accepted methods for measuring sustainability or ensuring its implementation."
FIFA has estimated the expected emissions before the tournament at 3.63 million tonnes of CO2. Among other things, the Climate Alliance Switzerland found this too low, because necessary shuttle flights during the World Cup had not been taken into account. According to SLK, FIFA announced that this amount of CO2 had already been compensated. However, it had not been able to prove this.
FIFA has also held out the prospect of compensating for the actual emissions, should they be higher. However, it had not presented a concept for this. "In addition, it remained unclear whether the compensation measures meet Swiss standards. Among other things, they call for a complete and permanent removal of CO2 from the atmosphere," says the SLK.
"The SLK recommends that FIFA refrain from making the objectionable statements in the future. In particular, that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is climate or CO2 neutral," the Commission announced.
FIFA is aware that climate change is one of the most pressing challenges, FIFA said on request. It makes every effort to keep the impact of major events on the environment and people as small as possible. It will examine the Commission's arguments in support of its recommendation and possibly appeal.