...

... Federico Addiechi (FIFA), Karols El-Kathib (Landesportbund Berlin) and Manuel Gaber ('Unser Fußball' und '50+1'-initiative) for giving me insides and and the interviews. As well as my supervisor @mschock.bsky.social and all the people who supported me along the way!
11/11

Big tanks to Alina Schwermer (journalist and author of 'Futopia'), @nicoleselmer.bsky.social(@ballesterer.at), @davidgoldblatt.bsky.social (journalist and author of the report 'Playing against the clock'), Stefan Wagner (Sports for Future), ... 10/11

...If we want to challenge that, new approaches outside the box across all boarders and beyond all constraints can enable a good socio-ecological sustainable football – and therefore life – for all." 9/11

Without real systemic change, “business as usual” will keep football from making a true climate impact. "If society – or in this case football – stays within the logic of endless possible growth, the Super League is the logical outcome. ... 8/11

However, even progressive clubs bump up against growth pressures and systemic inertia. The thesis calls for a bold paradigm shift: for football to become an engine of sustainability,it must rethink tournament scale,sever fossil-fuel sponsorships and prioritize democratic, transparent governance.7/11

A fact that also aligns with Polanyi's theory of the "double movement"-where the commidification process meets a countermovment which tries to reembed the game from the laws of the markets back into society and nature. 6/11

Meaningful change tends to be led by organized fans and bottom-up pressure, especially apparent in Germany, where initiatives inspired the Bundesliga to introduce sustainability criteria for club licensing. 5/11

The research exposes widespread greenwashing: major associations mainly focus on compensating emissions, while their commercial partnerships - including ties to fossil fuel industries and authoritarian regimes - undermine genuine ecological efforts and credibility 4/11

Despite sustainability pledges, the direction of FIFA, UEFA and the Bundesliga remains dominated by commercial growth. The expansion of tournaments and new competitions directly clashes with climate goals, underlining unresolved tensions between economic imperatives and ecological responsibility3/11

Football’s growing industry faces a fundamental contradiction: while its direct carbon footprint is relativly modest, its symbolic power could facilitate much broader environmental change - yet the conversation only gained traction after 2019 due to mounting public pressure on the climate crisis2/11