David Goldblatt notes that, the of the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) is sponsored by the French hydrocarbon giant, Total. The competition's latest iteration is even overtly labelled the 'Total Energies Afcon 2023'. This is ironic because hydrocarbons drive anthropogenic climate change. Africa will be especially impacted by climate change. It will, consequently, become more and more difficult to actually safely play soccer on that continent (
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/07/afcon-african-football-fossil-fuel-money). Goldblatt points out, however, that the link between hydrocarbon riches and soccer is far from limited to Afcon and Total. BP, Chevron, Eni, Gazprom, Petrobas, Quatar Energy, Saudi Aramco, Shell and Socar (Azerbaijan's state oil company), have all been/are major sponsors of soccer competitions (including those organised by UEFA and FIFA) and/or prominent clubs (Manchester City, Newcastle United and PSG). Soccer's apparent addiction to fossil fuel money is a problem. It facilitates fossil fuel 'greenwashing' and also further augments company profits, which can be ploughed back into yet more hydrocarbons. It's also important to add to the charge sheet, that hydrocarbon sponsorship directly ramps up climate change. It massively increases air travel of teams, their entourages and their fans to far-flung competitions. Perhaps, all should wear their sponsorship, with pride e.g. the 'Saudi Aramco FIFA World Cup 2034'?
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