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New Delhi: The 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the “most climate-damaging” in the history of the tournament, as per a report conducted following new research by environmentalists.

According to the Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR), as quoted by the BBCthe greenhouse gas emissions will massively impact the environment during the tournament, which has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

The expanded 2026 World Cup will generate more than nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, claims the campaign. “Driven by a high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches”

FIFA 2026 estimated to be the most polluting tournament ever staged.

SGR estimates that it is almost double the average for the last four World Cup editions, and significantly more than Qatar 2022, which approximately had a footprint of up to 5.25 million tonnes of CO2e.

At the 2026 World Cup, the total will reach “equivalent to nearly 6.5 million average British cars being driven for an entire year”, making it the most polluting tournament ever staged.

Environmental Defence Fund and the Sport for Climate Action Network collaborated to conduct the report.

Next year’s global showpiece event will be the first to be played across an entire continent. The tournament will also stage 40 more matches (104) than before.

At the time of the bid, the three host nations revealed a preliminary estimate of 3.6 million tonnes of CO2e, although at that stage it was estimated to stage just 80 matches.

FIFA has previously committed to cutting down emissions by 50% by 2030 and to reaching net-zero in the next decade.

The football governing body also claimed that they have developed and implemented sustainability strategies to enable themselves “to be aware of its impact and take adequate action”.

“As a result, on the environmental side, greenhouse gas emissions have been assessed and mitigated, waste has been substantially reduced and tonnes of material have been recycled and diverted from landfill, and stadium construction and operations have been certified according to green building standards,” FIFA had said.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest in the tournament’s history, taking place across three host nations for the first time.