Hello! Hope you are having a great recess week so far! To recap, I discussed the diets of players and how their food choices can play a part in reducing carbon emissions last week. But diet only constitutes a part of a top footballer’s lifestyle, they still have to train consistently and eventually play in matches. Hence, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the football infrastructures that make such activities possible, and how they impact the environment.
As everyone knows, many top clubs and nations play in thousand-seater stadiums to accommodate their huge fan base. Take the last World Cup for example, which took place in Russia in 2018. As the host city, the organisers had to ensure that there were enough venues for matches to be played simultaneously across the country. As a result, there was a need for 6 new stadiums to be built to meet FIFA’s minimum requirement of 40,000 seating capacity.
One of these stadiums to be built was the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad, a former German enclave that’s sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland. Left largely forgotten since World War II, the World Cup finally gave the Russian government a reason to spruce up the area with the gleaming new stadium at the centre of it. The only problem? It was built on one of the region’s few remaining wetlands, home to rare avian species.
Even though ecologists have sounded the alarm, construction still went ahead. That could be because the project was already behind time with a ballooning budget, two of the things any footballing hierarchy despises. Thus in Russia’s bid to make sure the stadium was ready for the tournament, environmental concerns were regrettably swept aside.
However, not all projects are as damaging to the environment as the one stated above. The building of Manchester City’s Football Academy is a standout example. Before it was built, the site used to be the home of Clayton Aniline Company, a textile dye company. While important to the region’s economy, especially during the height of Britain’s Industrial Revolution, it’s presence was damaging for the environment. That’s because the aniline that’s used in the dye was toxic, possibly even carcinogenic.
This left Manchester City FC a huge task on their hands when they moved into the vacant, toxic plot of land. But after months of cleaning, they managed to return greenery to the area, even adding wildlife corridors to better support the local fauna. Hence, one could say that without the club, the industrial land would’ve remained barren and devoid of any wildlife.
Though it’s pleasant to hear such success stories, a small part of me wonder if this can be easily replicated elsewhere. After all, City’s Abu Dhabi owners could easily afford the purported £150 million cost to build the academy, money which may not be available to other lesser clubs or nations. What do you think? Feel free to leave your thoughts below, and be sure to drop by next week!
References:
Barry, C. (2014, September 11). Blues hail community ethos of city football Academy investment. TheBusinessDesk.com. https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/666646-blues-hail-community-ethos-of-city-football-academy-investment
Beach, G. (2018, June 14). Despite sustainability pledges, World Cup Stadium built on rare wildlife habitat. Inhabitat | Design For a Better World!. https://inhabitat.com/despite-sustainability-pledges-world-cup-stadium-built-on-rare-wildlife-habitat/#:~:text=While%20Kaliningrad%20Stadium%20was%20constructed,of%20the%20nearby%20polluted%20river
FIFA. (n.d.). Play the Game. https://www.playthegame.org/fileadmin/documents/World_Stadium_Index_4_FIFA_WC.pdf
MCFC Editorial. (2018, February 7). Club support show the love environmental campaign. Manchester City FC – Official Website. https://www.mancity.com/news/club-news/picture-special/2018/february/man-city-support-show-the-love-campaign
Mordenmooch. (2020, May 8). Clayton aniline CIBA offices. https://modernmooch.com/2020/05/08/clayton-aniline-ciba-offices/
Rainsford, S. (2018, June 11). World Cup 2018: Kaliningrad – the venue next door to the west. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44438504
The Stadium Guide. (n.d.). Kaliningrad Stadium. https://www.stadiumguide.com/kaliningrad-stadium/
Travis, A. S. (2009, December 15). Toxicological and environmental aspects of anilines. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470682531.pat0397
World Cup venue guide. (2017, November 2). BBC Sport. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41586162#:~:text=Spread%20over%201%2C800%20miles%20from,the%202018%20Fifa%20World%20Cup