Guadalajara Targets a Green and Inclusive 2026 World Cup

The city of Guadalajara, one of Mexico's three host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, aims to organize an event that promotes environmental respect and social inclusion, at the request of FIFA. 

The 2026 World Cup will kick off on June 11 at Estadio Azteca, with another match to be played in Guadalajara later that day. Ainara Zatarain, Global Sustainability Manager of the Organizing Committee in Guadalajara, emphasized that the sustainability strategy will take up 40% of the event's budget. “FIFA has asked us to focus on these areas to avoid repeating what happened in Qatar, both for the stadium and the city,” said Zatarain.

To reduce pollution, Guadalajara is working to improve and promote the use of public transport and carpooling as the main means of transportation to reach Estadio Akron. Furthermore, improvements have begun on the stadium's setup, such as switching to LED lighting, which saves 10 minutes of energy as it lights up immediately, unlike the previous fixtures that needed to warm up.

The goal is also for the stadium to generate 50% less waste, and changes will be made to the grass to consume less water and use environmentally friendly chemicals. “We want to achieve the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by mid-2025, a FIFA requirement to make Akron a highly sustainable stadium,” said Zatarain.

Zatarain emphasized that besides reducing the carbon footprint from the matches hosted in Guadalajara, her team will focus on creating an inclusive environment to avoid the hostile conditions experienced by some minorities in 2022, such as the LGBT+ community. “The Human Rights strategy will be defined by FIFA, while we have reached out to NGOs like the Global Compact, the University of Guadalajara, and UNICEF to share their experiences and guide us,” she underscored. 

The executive stated that the focus areas will be on children's rights and health and on preventing homophobic chants, which originated in that city in the early 2000s and have led to several sanctions for Mexico from FIFA. “We are not going to change an entire population or the world with a magic wand, but we want to leave a legacy that benefits the city, raising awareness that we need to do something for the environment and promote respect among everyone,” concluded Zatarain.

The 2022 Qatar World Cup was promoted as the most sustainable in history, being the first to achieve the international ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management systems. According to FIFA, Qatar's World Cup featured an exclusive energy, water, and waste management program for the stadium. Additionally, all eight stadiums received certification from the Global Sustainability Assessment System for buildings. However, environmental organizations labeled the sporting event as the most polluting in history and accused FIFA of attempting to cover up the facts with greenwashing strategies. FIFA data reported that the carbon footprint of the World Cup resulted in 3.6Mt of CO2 emissions, the highest ever for a World Cup, surpassing the impact of other international events like the Olympics. Additionally, a study by Carbon Market Watch indicated that the official data appeared to be underestimated and claimed that the ecological footprint of the stadiums alone multiplied the official figure by eight.

Moreover, the event was heavily criticized for its discriminatory stance towards minorities, including members of the LGBT+ community. "Historically, Qatar has been recognized as a country that represses the rights of LGBT+ people and women. Yet, FIFA decided to grant them the tournament host status in 2010," highlights an article by Human Rights Watch. Additionally, regarding the working conditions of migrant workers, organizations such as Amnesty International denounced the exploitation of thousands of people hired for the construction of the Khalifa football stadium and other facilities.

For the remainder of 2024, the Guadalajara committee will finalize the planning for the event, building the necessary infrastructure in 2025 with inaugural dates expected in early 2026, as the city prepares for its third World Cup.