Seven weeks of action on climate change under way as fans try to win their clubs the CUP26 trophy; fans, schools and families can all join in to help their clubs and the planet; warm up for global climate summit, COP26, this November in Glasgow
Tuesday 14 September 2021 12:01, UK
Football fans, schools and families are warming up for the global climate summit COP26 by taking on a seven-week challenge to help the planet.
The biggest-ever football campaign tasked to tackle climate change, CUP26, has been devised by Planet Super League, who look tackle climate change through football, and Count Us In, a global movement of people and organisations taking practical steps to protect what they love from climate change, before it's too late.
In partnership with Sky Zero and Together for Our Planet, CUP26 kicked off on Monday and brought together 49 football clubs and community organisations across the UK competing in fixtures where the fans are the ones on the ball.
There are over 50 goal-scoring activities and the more actions the fans take to cut their carbon footprints, the more goals their club scores.
Activities include making a plant-based meal, cycling, and walking to work and school, and the Lucas Moura-supported "No Moura Landfill" - where fans show off their football 'tekkers' while recycling.
An additional 25,000 schools will be sent a toolkit this week with instructions on how to get involved and score goals for their respective clubs by reducing their carbon footprint.
Once the challenge is complete, the winner will receive the CUP26 trophy in the first week of the COP26 summit, which will be held in Glasgow between November 1 and November 12, 2021.
Eleven new clubs have joined the platform for the CUP26 season, including Middlesbrough, West Ham and Scotland's greenest club, Hibernian. They join Aston Villa, Crystal Palace Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, and Nottingham Forest and many more in the battle for the Planet Super League trophy.
In week one, current Planet Super League champions, Burnley, face last season's runners up, Arsenal, while the highlight of the round sees Tottenham take on Chelsea and Sheffield United face previous Planet Super League champions Chesterfield in two feisty derbies. Leeds United face Cambridge United, and QPR face Swindon; two matches where League form is no guide to the outcome...
Sky has partnered with Tottenham to host the world's first net zero carbon football game at an elite level.
The September 19 fixture between Tottenham and Chelsea is supported by COP26 and the Premier League, and will be branded #GameZero, with the ambition of being net zero carbon. This is achieved when emissions are reduced as much as possible, with the remainder offset through natural projects that remove emissions from the atmosphere.
Sky, Tottenham Hotspur and the UK Government want the game to raise awareness of the threat of climate change and inspire football fans to make simple changes that will help reduce their carbon footprint.
