Forty-four Women’s World Cup players, led by the Denmark international Sofie Junge Pedersen, have committed to taking climate action over the flights taken to and from Australia and New Zealand for the tournament. It is the biggest player‑led climate action in football history, with Canada’s Jessie Fleming and Italy’s Elena Linari also playing a key part in the initiative, which is supported by Common Goal and Football For Future. Pedersen was the instigator, putting forward the idea to her Denmark and Juventus teammates and, after receiving their support, taking it to Common Goal and Football For Future to help facilitate the idea further, with aims of creating a short-term solution to a bigger problem. The players are donating money to a combination of climate-resilience, and carbon-offsetting and adaptation, initiatives. “I want to ensure my World Cup experience has a positive environmental legacy,” Pedersen said. “Climate change is the biggest issue humanity faces, and I want to be part of the solution. While there are no current sustainable solutions to aviation, as players we are setting an example and taking a tangible step in the right direction.” Pedersen has quickly been able to get a large following from other footballers taking part in the World Cup this year, with Chelsea’s Fleming one of them. “This is a topic I feel passionate about, and I hope this action my teammates and I are taking accelerates the climate conversation and sets a precedent for what athletes can do to push for more environmental policies in football,” Fleming told the Guardian. Taking part in the campaign, she said, was an “easy initiative to get excited about because it’s a good way of drawing attention to the issue of the carbon footprint associated with these tournaments”. The project not only looks to have a positive effect in regards to the climate as a whole but also to leave a lasting impact on supporters of the World Cup. Fleming said that she hopes the initiative will show fans, especially younger supporters, that football “means using your voice to advocate things that are important for you”. The campaign was facilitated by Common Goal, the social and environmental collective movement in global football, and Football For Future, the UK-based climate advocacy football not-for-profit organisation. The project relies on a rigorous and scientific methodology to calculate the environmental impact of the players’ travel to and from the World Cup, directly referencing each flight’s carbon tonnage. The players then donate the money to a combination of climate resilience, carbon offsetting and adaptation initiatives run by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and DanChurchAid. Fleming said: “One of the biggest things for me is recognising that it’s not a perfect solution. There’s no real way to replace the environmental impact that travel has but it’s a step in a positive direction and I think there needs to be a narrative around it and conversations being had. It is important to acknowledge that this isn’t a perfect solution to the carbon footprint.” Roma’s Linari said: “The fact that this is a player-led initiative is inspiring. Like all players, I’m focused on doing the best I can at the World Cup. But I also want to acknowledge that football has an impact on the planet, and most importantly, do something concrete about it. Sharing with people that a ‘little’ help can be so important for the planet. Together we can change the world.” Common Goal’s sustainability and environmental lead, Jérémy Houssin, said: “Common Goal aims to inspire every part of football’s ecosystem to collaborate towards an equal and sustainable future. Increasingly the new generation of players, coaches, fans, club owners and football administrators are all looking for ways to integrate environmental action at every level of the sport. We are empowering collective action enabling this to happen, while accelerating the conversation on environment in football.” The players will be supporting three projects through their initiative – WWF’s koala project, WWF’s coastal project and Uganda’s tree-planting project – and urge anyone else interested to contact Common Goal or Football For Future. All donations are being matched by a third party.