Vermont Green FC proves that sports fandom and climate action can be inseparable, using soccer’s communal power to engage thousands in environmental justice—a model that challenges the entire sports industry to confront its fossil fuel sponsorships and massive carbon footprint.
A thin haze from Canadian wildfires veiled the pitch at Virtue Field as Vermont Green FC’s starting lineup took the field in June 2025. The air quality alert was a stark reminder of the climate crisis—yet it did nothing to deter a sold-out crowd of 2,500+ fans, many clad in green, wildflower-themed jerseys, their collective presence in the stands resembling a blooming meadow.
This was no ordinary soccer match. Burlington’s semiprofessional United Soccer League 2 club operates with a radical mission: to “be a powerful catalyst for a more environmentally sustainable and socially just world.” In practice, that means integrating climate action directly into the fan experience.
Behind the bleachers, organizations like 350Vermont and solar energy companies engaged attendees. Even the porta-potties, operated by Wasted*, turned human urine into fertilizer for local farms. For team cofounder Patrick Infurna, this fusion of soccer and advocacy is intentional. “Our real expertise is running a soccer team,” he admits. “But being able to bring in the actual experts to use our platform—that’s where we thrive as an environmental justice organization.”
Why This Model Matters Now
Vermont Green FC’s approach taps into a profound psychological lever: people are more inspired to take action when issues are attached to the things they love. For Infurna, that medium is soccer. While Burlington—a city that has generated 100% of its electricity from renewable sources since 2014—may seem uniquely predisposed to such a team, Infurna believes the model is replicable anywhere.
His vision aligns with a growing body of research suggesting that sports could become a considerable force for climate good. With deep systemic change, the industry could tackle its own considerable fossil fuel problem. This would mean minimizing carbon-intensive travel, ending fossil fuel sponsorships, and reining in the mass consumption of merchandise. The potential is enormous, but so are the obstacles.
The Fossil Fuel Lifeline: $5.6 Billion and Counting
The sports world’s dependence on fossil fuel revenue is staggering. Fossil fuel companies currently spend an estimated $5.6 billion on sports sponsorships annually, spanning from soccer and motorsports to badminton and handball, according to a 2024 report from the think tank New Weather Institute.
Petrostates amplify this influence. Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-biggest oil producer, spends billions on “sportswashing”—using sports to distract from human rights abuses. The kingdom pays Lionel Messi $25 million to be its tourism ambassador and is slated to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
“Sporting events are one of the most trusted and effective advertising channels,” says Freddie Daley, a political economy researcher at the University of Sussex and campaigner with climate groups Badvertising and Cool Down. This trust makes sports a prime target for moving public opinion—or sanitizing tarnished reputations. Tobacco did it last century; political figures have followed suit. “Sport is like an advertiser’s dream,” Daley says. “It’s got all the things you want to be associated with: peak physical performance, muscular bodies, human achievement.”
The Dual Power of Sports: Influence and Isolation
That power doesn’t have to serve the planet’s detriment. Daley envisions a world where sports marketing sways public opinion toward climate action. Crucially, sports could engage one of the climate movement’s most reticent demographics: older, working-class, conservative-leaning men, who form a core sports fanbase. “Unfortunately, we’ve experienced the mass politicization of climate action… Actions that are deemed woke are slapped back,” Daley notes. “I think sport is a really effective tool at cutting through that.”
Sports also combat a key psychological barrier to climate action: the false sense of isolation. A study published in Nature Climate Change found that 89% of people want stronger climate action, yet most believe they’re in the minority. Another study measuring fan heart rates found that sporting events foster “emotional synchrony”—or collective effervescence—forming and reinforcing shared identities. What better way to unite the masses than through the shared identity of fandom?
The Income-Inequality of Athletic Influence
Athletes rank behind only parents as kids’ most-admired role models. Fans emulate their idols. If LeBron James bikes to games or Lewis Hamilton adopts a plant-based diet, those behaviors spread. So why can’t athletes regularly advertise environmental literacy?
Some are already trying. NFL offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum joined the Ocean Conservancy’s Protect Where We Play initiative, quipping, “I’m an offensive lineman, so I know protection better than most.” Scottish rugby star Jamie Farndale, who holds a master’s in sustainable leadership from Cambridge, now leads sustainability initiatives for Hong Kong China Rugby. His graduate thesis showed how low-carbon technologies spread as “social contagions” through collectives—sports fandoms being among the largest. “If we want to spread uptake of these technologies… sport is the best connector,” Farndale says.
He points to Pantheon, an MIT project cataloging historical influential figures. While pre-1600 entries were mostly politicians, sports professionals make up nearly 83% of 21st-century entries. “I think sport has to be political,” Farndale asserts.
The Elephant in the Room: Sports’ Own Carbon Footprint
Discussing climate action in sports requires confronting the industry’s sizable emissions. A business-as-usual professional league involves long-haul flights, sponsorships from high-carbon businesses (airlines, fossil fuels, cryptocurrencies), and the mass consumption and disposal of gear and merchandise. The global soccer industry alone has a carbon footprint equal to Austria, per a 2025 New Weather Institute report.
Dr. Jules Boykoff, a former professional soccer player turned political scientist at Pacific University, warns of the gap between sustainability claims and practice. “All too often, there’s a customary chasm between word and deed,” he says. Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, an environmental scientist who has advised the Yankees, NBA, MLB, and NHL, frames sustainability as “an essential corporate management obligation.” With 80–89% of the world wanting stronger climate action, negligence is a “branding liability.”
Climate change also directly threatens sports. A 2023 World Athletics survey found that over three-quarters of track-and-field athletes believe climate change negatively affects sports. Athletes have increasingly sounded the alarm about rising temperatures posing risks to their professions.
Proof of Concept: Climate Pledge Arena and the Path Forward
Existing infrastructure demonstrates what’s possible. Climate Pledge Arena, home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, is powered by 100% renewable energy, offers free public transit with every ticket, and recycles rainwater to create its ice.
For Vermont Green FC, scaling is top of mind. They launched a women’s team in 2024, coached by World Cup champion Sam Mewis, and are discussing how to translate their model into a fully professional, year-round operation. Infurna imagines this ethos in the NFL, NBA, or MLB. He points to MetLife Stadium, home to the Jets and Giants, which seats 82,500 fans. “Eighty thousand people all wearing the same shirt, all on the same page, all believing in this thing,” he reflects. “Could you imagine gathering 80,000 people together that are all in this collective thought process and not using that for something a little bit more?”
The Victory That Isn’t on the Scoreboard
The June game against the Boston Bolts ended in a 1–1 draw, leaving Vermont Green unbeaten at 4–1–0. The lead vanished in the final two minutes after a red card. By traditional metrics, it might feel like a letdown. But for Infurna, packing 2,500 people into the stands to engage with climate justice is a win.
“If you’re the type of person that’s going to get your whole mood derailed by a sports result, there’s always something to fall back on if your team has more meaning to it,” he says. It’s hard to quantify how many fans will install solar or join a river cleanup after a match. But the community built is itself a radical act. “Just being together is, unfortunately, a bit radical these days,” Infurna notes. “This world wants to isolate us, and sports can be a counter to that.”
Daley sees another opportunity: making climate action fun. “Sport is fun,” he says, “and I think climate action should be fun, too.” Vermont Green FC’s story suggests that when fandom and purpose align, both the stands and the planet stand to gain.
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