World Cup Touts ‘More Sustainable Stadiums’ But Some Were Built on Rare Wildlife Habitats
The Kaliningrad Stadium for the 2018 World Cup was built on a rare urban wetlands, local activists say. Dmitry Rozhkov / CC BY-SA 4.0
When the World Cup kicks off in Russia Thursday, it will be the first World Cup whose stadiums were required by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to incorporate sustainability into their construction and renovation, according to the FIFA report More Sustainable Stadiums.
“Stadiums are key in our efforts to stage a successful and more sustainable FIFA World Cup, which is why FIFA has made green certification mandatory for all arenas used for the event,” FIFA head of sustainability and diversity Federico Addiechi said in February, when FIFA announced that three Russian stadiums had already passed certification.
