Gazprom, a Russian oil and gas conglomerate, increased its sponsorship of Uefa soccer competitions by becoming a partner for the subsequent two editions of the European Championships. Additionally, the company extended its sponsorship of the Champions League.

Uefa was one of the first organizations to sign the Sports for Climate Action Framework, which was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Aleksander eferin, the leader of Uefa, made the declaration in December 2020 that the association would be supporting the European Environment Agreement. He also said that Uefa would use soccer's global reach to educate the public and get fans to join the fight against climate change.

Soccer Front of Shirt Dealsis not enough. It is evident that Uefa's sustainability objectives do not correspond to their sponsorship revenue sources. Nissan, Qatar Aviation routes, and Volkswagen will be the essential backers of the Uefa in both 2020 and 2021. Gazprom will likewise be available. Nissan and Volkswagen fall behind in ESG (climate, social, and administration) as per their MSCI appraisals. The World Bank rates Russia as the world leader in gas flaring, with 21.3% of all gas emissions coming from Russia. The essential guilty party is Gazprom.
Sponsorship is an enormous industry. Front-of-shirt sponsorship creates an expected $1.4 billion yearly across the main 15 European soccer associations, as per GlobalData. The biggest front-of-the-shirt deal in European soccer that Real Madrid and Emirates have is currently worth $81.8 million per season.

Soccer and "grimy cash" In this sense, Uefa's reestablishment of its agreement with Gazprom is important for a bigger issue with sport sponsorships that utilization a great deal of fossil fuel byproducts. A report titled "Sweat not Oil" stated in March 2021 that there are over 250 sponsorship agreements between sports organizations and high-carbon industries. The advancement of high-carbon items, as indicated by a similar report, truly sabotages endeavors to battle environmental change.

Soccer had the most high-carbon sponsors of any sport, according to the report, which looked at 13 different sports. 57 of the 250 sponsorship manages soccer bunches included high-carbon items. These transactions saw participation primarily from automobile, oil and gas, and aviation businesses.

Andrew Simms, the co-maker of the report, ensures that those high dirtying associations are sport washing through sponsorship. " Businesses that contaminate a ton support sports to make it seem as though they support sound games, yet truly, they are dirtying the air competitors inhale and obliterating the environment sports rely upon.

The money from sponsorships from high polluters is engaging for now. However, climate change will, in the long run, harm sport and every other industry.
The final of the efa Champions League will have a significant impact on the environment. Uefa was criticized in 2021 for not considering environmental issues. On May 29, 2021, the Champions League final was moved from Istanbul to Porto, despite the fact that Chelsea and Manchester City, two English teams, compete in it. Uefa's decision says that fans can watch the game live inside the stadium by going to a green zone.

However, from an environmental standpoint, it makes no sense not to host the final in England. BBC Sport estimates that fans who traveled to the last nine finals have released an estimated 133 million kilograms of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If the games had been held in the host nation whenever possible, this number would have been reduced to an estimated 27.7 million kilograms. Over 12,600 homes would have been spared, saving the equivalent of a year's worth of energy-related emissions.

Combating climate change necessitates quitting fossil fuels. Sport has the potential to significantly benefit climate initiatives worldwide due to its vast global audience. If Uefa and the games industry as a whole are going to fulfill their obligations to implement more sustainable practices, they should reduce the number of high-carbon sponsorships.