FA and E.ON announce plans to decarbonise grassroots football

Intervention packages will help small community clubs become more sustainable, inspiring wider action in their local area.

The partnership will see E.ON offer bespoke energy saving advice to grassroots football teams in England, alongside energy-saving kits and educational resources.

Upgrades to assist with the transition to clean energy solutions will also be offered to select clubs, with full details of how support will be delivered set to be unveiled in the near future.

‘Our new partnership with E.ON will provide many of our grassroots clubs with valuable support and guidance to help them become more sustainable in the future,’ said Mark Bullingham, FA Chief Executive. ‘This includes working with clubs so that they can make a positive environmental impact in the communities they serve, as well as helping them to save money by identifying new energy-efficient ways to run their clubs.

‘We’re delighted to be working with E.ON on this important area of our game, and we look forward to sharing further details with grassroots clubs in the coming months around our new support programme, including infrastructure upgrades and educational resources that will be on offer to them,’ he continued.

Last year, Environment Journal published an investigation into Premier League emissions and air miles from pre-season playoffs, highlighting the distance teams are travelling for non-competitive matches, with sides from England facing off in locations such as South East Asia and the US. You can revisit the full story here. 

‘Creating the more sustainable country we all want and need will take all of us working together – in our homes and businesses and across entire communities,’ added Chris Norbury, Chief Executive at E.ON UK. ‘Whether the focus is saving money, fighting the climate crisis or creating new jobs and skills, it’s important to look at the small actions that can add up to a big impact, which is why we’re so excited to be working with one of the biggest networks of community organisations anywhere in the world – the FA’s grassroots football network.’

More on net zero and climate change: 

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Image: Diego Parodi