Championing Sustainability: Engaging Sports Stakeholders in Climate Change Mitigation

Abstract

Climate change today places sport in a delicate position: it is both at risk from rising temperatures, flooding, and poor air quality, and at the same time contributes to environmental pressures through energy-hungry stadiums, international travel, and mega-events. This paper explores how key actors such as athletes, federations, governments, fans, and sponsors can become powerful agents of climate action rather than passive participants in the crisis. Framed through human ecology, which shows how sport is bound to its natural environment, social capital theory, which emphasises the networks and trust that sport generates, and anthropological theory of ritual and performance, which explains how sporting events carry symbolic force and shape shared values, the study positions sport as a crucial arena for sustainability. Using qualitative data from the FEASSSA International Symposium and Participatory Action Workshop held in Kakamega, Kenya, in August 2025, and drawing comparisons with global events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, and South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, the paper demonstrates that sport can amplify climate literacy, promote green practices, and inspire resilience. However, challenges remain in the form of commercialisation, financial constraints, and weak policy frameworks. To move forward, the study recommends integrating sustainability into sports governance, investing in green infrastructure, building partnerships across governments and communities to strengthen grassroots initiatives, and using sport as a platform to teach and normalise climate-conscious behaviour, especially among young people.