New Climate Champion Handbook for Nike athletes launched

• Lotte Wubben-Moy is the first Nike athlete to be sent the Handbook. It has also been sent to Kai Havertz, Jessie Fleming, Magdalena Eriksson and Eric Dier.
• This is the first example of a sports brand educating their athletes on the interrelationship between sport and climate change, and supporting them to use their platform and raise awareness.

Environmental football non-profit, Football For Future, have launched a new handbook for Nike athletes, supporting them to become Climate Champions.

Climate Champions are individuals who use their platform to stand up for the planet. Football For Future have created this handbook to inspire Nike athletes on this journey.

The Climate Champion Handbook explains:

• The fundamentals of climate change
• The interrelationship between climate, sustainability, and football
• What Football For Future is doing to tackle climate change
• How Nike is mitigating environmental impact
• How Nike athletes can make a difference

EURO 2022 winner and England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy is the first Nike athlete to be sent the Climate Champion Handbook. It has also been sent to Kai Havertz (Chelsea, midfield), Jessie Fleming (Chelsea, midfield), Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea, defence) and Eric Dier (Tottenham, defence).

EURO 2022 winner and England defender, Lotte Wubben-Moy, said:

“The climate crisis is now and it’s not something we can avoid. If football is going to have a future, the sport needs to use its relations with the world’s biggest brands and companies to ensure they do their part. Sponsors have a responsibility to educate their athletes on the interrelationship between football and climate change - and Nike partnering with Football For Future to produce this handbook is a step in the right direction.”

Football For Future Founder, Elliot Arthur-Worsop, said:

“We’re delighted to work with Lotte and Nike on this pioneering project to activate athletes in the climate space. There is such exciting potential if we can support players and brands to use their platforms to educate their followers about important issues and redefine the climate conversation for new audiences. There is a long way to go - but this is a good first step.”

The recipients of the Climate Champion Handbook have received it as part of a toolkit, which also includes a limited-edition and upcycled-by-hand Football For Future x Nike football shirt, featuring patches designed by ILOVEDUST.

The toolkit includes social media assets explaining the interrelationship between football and climate change, framed for football fans.

According to the IPCC, humanity must significantly reduce carbon emissions this decade to avoid irreversible damage to the Earth’s climate system. Despite this, 2021 saw the second biggest rise in greenhouse gas emissions on record. 

The relationship between football and climate change is clear:

• A quarter of professional clubs in England could be flooded on a regular basis by 2050. In the Premier League this includes Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, West Ham’s London Stadium and Southampton's St. Mary’s. In the Championship Hull and Cardiff are at risk 
• But you don’t have to look ahead to 2050. The average grassroots pitch in England already loses five weeks a season to bad weather. To accommodate the recent 40C heatwave, the England women’s team moved training times forward
• Sport also contributes to climate change, with an estimated global carbon bootprint the size of Denmark, or equivalent nation - and that is at the low end of estimates 
• Football has enormous potential to raise environmental awareness and drive climate action; over two thirds of the world’s population are expected to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup final 

Football For Future (www.footballforfuture.org) is an environmental not-for-profit made up of sustainability experts, climate scientists and football-creatives, with a mission to build a more environmentally sustainable culture in football. We do this by supporting the implementation of environmentally sustainable operations in football, and by raising awareness of the relationship between football and climate change.