How sustainable is professional football in the Netherlands? ‘Many fans simply don’t have an electric car’

“Sorry, you are not allowed to enter here if you do not drive an electric car,” says an FC Dordrecht steward to the driver of a petrol car. The man in the yellow vest is standing between the car and the iron fence of the parking lot of FC Dordrecht. “You can park in the Vogelbuurt, nearby.”

It is Friday evening, tonight the football club from Dordrecht is organizing the first match in Dutch professional football “without negative consequences for the climate”, says Leon Vlemmings, innovation manager at the club from the Eerste Divisie. For example, many supporters arrive at the stadium on foot or by bicycle, and only electric vehicles are allowed in the parking lot.

Research by Energiek Dordt, one of the partners of the professional club, shows that FC Dordrecht emits one to three tons of CO every match, of which mobility and electricity and gas consumption are the biggest polluters. This amounts to 341 tons of CO2 annually, or twelve thousand trees on 25 football fields. The actual emissions from the climate-neutral competition were not measured on Friday evening. The club’s initiative is mainly intended to make the region more sustainable, says organizer Vlemmings. By working together with partners, small businesses and schools in the area. “This day is all about awareness and a collective challenge.”

A 2021 study by PwC into the social impact of professional football in the Netherlands shows that there is still a lot of work to be done in the field of sustainability: two out of three professional clubs lack a ‘concrete sustainability policy’, so measures to sustainable for the time being. However, almost all clubs are working on smaller initiatives, such as installing solar panels or separating waste.

Vegan sausage and cold shower

In Dordrecht, supporters eat vegan sausages on Friday and drink their beer from reusable cups. Players are taking a cold shower, more bicycle racks have been installed and an electric, robotic lawnmower is driving across the field. There were also failures, says Vlemmings. For example, the roof was too weak to place plants and grasses, and the players of opponent TOP Oss arrived in a diesel bus.

To achieve greater gains in the field of sustainability, the KNVB football association, the Eredivisie CV and Coöperatie Eerste Divisie are working together to map out the CO2 footprint of each of the 34 clubs. “Until that baseline measurement has been carried out, there is still no insight into what measures can be taken per club,” says Sjoerd Jans, club advisor for professional football at the KNVB. At the end of this season, the baseline measurement – ​​which analyzes various aspects such as mobility, energy and water consumption – will be completed, Jans expects.

Dutch football clubs are lagging behind worldwide in terms of sustainability. For example, the Spanish club Real Betis and the British Forest Green Rovers FC have been working on sustainability for years: the Rovers’ stadium, for example, runs entirely on solar and wind energy.

European directives are increasing the pressure to become more sustainable. The so-called ‘Fit for 55’ climate package from European Commissioner Frans Timmermans obliges companies, including professional football organizations (BVOs), to reduce their net emissions by 55 percent by 2030. Jans calls it “a challenge” for clubs to get this done.

Nevertheless, a number of Dutch BVOs took modest sustainability steps on their own. In 2021, PEC Zwolle was the first club to ban the use of disposable cups and introduced a deposit on ‘PEC cups’. Willem II recently switched to sturdy, reusable cups.

Sponsors also ask more of the clubs, says Jans. Research by KNVB Expertise shows that 87 percent of sponsors consider it ‘important’ or ‘very important’ that BVOs are actively involved in sustainability. “If you as a club are not concerned with sustainability, it is difficult to keep them with you,” says the KNVB club advisor.

But within umbrella organizations, sports mentality is still above sustainability. At the end of February, the selection and technical staff of Ajax flew from Amsterdam to Berlin for a Europa League match against Union Berlin. A month later, the Dutch national team flew to Paris for the European Championship qualifier against France. Instead of a train journey of more than three hours to Gare du Nord on green electricity, the KNVB opted for the most polluting option.

One-time event

Aukje Geubbels, corporate social responsibility manager of interest group Eredivisie CV, believes that it is the responsibility of BVO directors to achieve the set climate goals. “We can provide guidance in this, but the way in which top clubs travel internationally depends, for example, on the rest time for athletes and how the game schedule is divided,” says Geubbels.

The KNVB, Eredivisie CV and Coöperatie Eerste Divisie support FC Dordrecht’s initiative, but were not involved in the organization. With the one-off event, the club is a forerunner, says general manager of the Coöperatie Eerste Divisie Marc Boele.

“We can still learn from that,” Jans of the KNVB agrees. “We promote sustainability and can provide information about it, but ultimately clubs have to take the step themselves.” On June 30, for example, a knowledge session about mobility within professional football will be organized at VItesse, for all BVOs.

Worldwide, football traffic – the return journey of supporters, players and staff to a match – is the largest environmental polluter in professional football. During the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year, there were hundreds of extra flights for fans between Doha and neighboring countries due to a major shortage of hotel rooms in the host country. Qatar promised to organize the first CO2-neutral world championship, but the opposite turned out to be true. Roughly speaking, 3.6 million tons of CO2 was released during the World Cup, according to world football association FIFA.

Handful of Ossers

In Dordrecht, TOP Oss supporters questioned the climate-neutral match on Friday evening. At least, those few fans who are present: a handful of residents from Oss enter the stadium fifteen minutes before the match. According to steward Stef (18), the low enthusiasm is due to the low position in the ranking – “the supporters are no longer so motivated to come” – and the requirements that FC Dordrecht set in terms of transport. For many people from Brabant it is impossible to arrive at the stadium on time in an emission-free manner. “Many people simply do not have an electric car,” says Stef.

Whether you get the supporters on board determines whether national sustainability goals can be achieved, says Aukje Geubbels of the Eredivisie CV. So a major turnaround will have to take place. “In the end, everyone will have to become more sustainable, football is not unique in this.”

Boele of the Coöperatie Eerste Divisie was not present at FC Dordrecht’s climate-neutral match. Much to his regret, he says a few days in advance. “On Friday evening, a match will be held that determines who can call themselves champions of the Eerste Divisie. Sportsmanship is now a priority.”