An Action Plan for a Sustainable Football

Nowadays every policy address is referred to the Sustainable Development Goals, defined by the United Nations in 2015. Pursue them permits to adhere to a common language and to guide any development, also in grassroots football world.
On the European scene, the attention dedicated to a sustainable approach is keeping growing and demands to the sports organisations to undertake a not postponable pledge.
Any organisations should understand on which SDGs they can contribute, then select them and give them an appropriate priority.

GREEN COACH project drafted the first Action Plan for a sustainable football aimed at merging football and SDGs.
With its aggregating power, the sport can make broader the visibility, the comprehension and the pursue of the SDGs in the world.
The application of the tool developed within the GREEN COACH project will allow individual clubs to learn about the main impacts and to define an environmentally sustainable strategy.
The contributions of football to the SDGs should be exploited reflecting the expertise, experiences and welcome input of various stakeholders. Any football organizations should be part of this transition, fostering green football and recognizing its value as a flexible tool for enabling
sustainable development outcomes.
Football’s role and potential may be addressed in relation to all 17 SDGs, being mindful of the importance of each goal, even if we mostly focused on the SDGs related to the environment.

The publication containing the report and the plan for environmental sustainability of grassroots sport clubs is available on our website and downloadable here.