Extreme heat has become one of sport’s toughest opponents. This summer’s Fifa World Cup has once again raised concerns about players competing in dangerous temperatures. But football is far from alone.
Tennis players have battled through extreme heat at Grand Slam tournaments. Marathon races have been cancelled because of soaring temperatures. Wildfire smoke has disrupted sporting competitions across North America and Australia. Winter sports face an increasingly uncertain future as reliable snow becomes harder to find.
Climate change is no longer a distant environmental issue for athletes. It is becoming an occupational hazard.
But that also creates an opportunity. Professional sport stars are often seen as unlikely climate advocates, because most elite sport depends on frequent flying, commercial sponsorship and resource-intensive events.
Yet this gives them something unusually powerful: first-hand experience of how climate change is affecting the sports they have devoted their lives to.
Our work at the University of Oxford’s Climate Leadership Research Centre, building on research from the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations at the University of Bath, explores how influential people can help accelerate climate action.
One consistent finding is that people with lived experience can become trusted and effective communicators. Sport stars are no exception.
When they speak about climate change, they are not commenting on an abstract political issue; they are describing changes they are already experiencing. And the strong emotional connection between fans and athletes makes them powerful messengers.
Some have already shown what this can look like. Norwegian international footballer Morten Thorsby has become one of the sport’s most prominent climate advocates, using his platform this summer to call for more heat protections from Fifa.
Former Arsenal and Spain defender Héctor Bellerín has likewise spoken openly about environmental issues, arguing that the football industry has a responsibility to think beyond the next match and consider the future of the planet.
These footballers are persuasive not because they claim to have all the answers, but because they speak from experience.
Many sporting stars are understandably hesitant to speak up about climate change. They worry about being accused of hypocrisy because elite sport is inherently high carbon. They fear criticism from fans, sponsors or the media. Some feel they lack the scientific expertise to comment.
These concerns are real. But they need not be reasons for silence.
Climate leadership does not require personal perfection. Indeed, research suggests people respond better to advocates who are open about the tensions they face than those who present themselves as flawless. An athlete can honestly say: “My career depends on systems that produce emissions – I benefit from them too. But climate change is already changing my sport, and we need to find better ways forward.”
That message would reflect a reality that most people recognise. Very few of us live completely low-carbon lives. We all operate within systems we did not create. People are often more persuaded by leaders who acknowledge these tensions.
Our research also suggests that sport stars are most effective when they act together. Collective leadership reduces the personal risks of speaking out, while making it harder to dismiss climate concern as the opinion of one person.
High Impact Athletes is a network supporting elite sportspeople to advocate for climate action. Rather than relying on isolated voices, it often brings multiple athletes together in coordinated social media campaigns.
This sends a powerful signal that climate concern is shared across sport. It also appears to reduce the familiar online criticism telling athletes to “stay in your lane” — a reminder that solidarity can help overcome barriers that people struggle to face alone.
An Australian initiative called FrontRunners helps athletes communicate about climate change. One lesson from its work is refreshingly practical: presentation matters.
Athletes are far more likely to participate when campaigns use high-quality photography, video and graphic design that fit naturally with the way they communicate online. Effective climate leadership is not only about having the right message, but also about making it easy and attractive for people to share it.
Athletes should not assume the public is against them. Although hostile reactions often dominate headlines and social media, large international surveys consistently find that most people support stronger action on climate change. The loudest critics are not necessarily representative of the wider public.
Potential to influence
Building on these lessons, at the Climate Leadership Research Centre we are recruiting 300 high-profile leaders, including international athletes, to explore how influential people can help accelerate climate action.
Participants will receive training, peer support and research-informed guidance to help them overcome hesitancy, communicate authentically and respond constructively to criticism. The aim is not to turn sport stars into climate scientists or politicians, but to equip them with the confidence and evidence-based approaches they need to use their platforms effectively.
Climate change is already changing the conditions under which sport is played. Athletes cannot solve the problem on their own, but they can help millions of people understand that it is no longer a distant environmental issue — it is already reshaping the games we watch and the sports they love.
By speaking honestly about what they are witnessing, acknowledging the contradictions they face, and calling collectively for systemic change alongside individual action, they have an opportunity to become some of the most trusted climate leaders of our time.
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
