Statements made by the world football association FIFA about a supposedly "completely climate-neutral" World Cup tournament in Qatar in 2022 were misleading in the opinion of the Berlin Regional Court. The association should refrain from making these and other claims in future.
13.11.2025, 05:00
13.11.2025, 07:28
SDA
This also includes statements such as that the FIFA sustainability strategy for the 2022 World Cup included energy-efficient stadiums or low-emission means of transportation. FIFA is also no longer allowed to claim that unavoidable emissions have been offset. The Berlin Regional Court thus upheld a complaint by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv).
The consumer association had objected to corresponding statements on the FIFA website in the context of online ticket sales for the tournament in the desert state of Qatar three years ago. The regional court ruled that the claims had not been sufficiently explained by FIFA. From the vzbv's point of view, it remained completely unclear to what extent emissions were actually to be reduced or merely offset.
vzbv board member: "Consumers deceived"
It would have been necessary to clarify whether and how climate neutrality would be achieved through reduction or offsetting, according to the ruling. As a result, there is a risk that the customers addressed assumed a much greater reduction in emissions than actually occurred.
According to the ruling, FIFA may no longer make these statements retroactively about the tournament in Qatar in future. However, the ruling is not yet legally binding.
"The ruling shows: FIFA has deceived consumers," announced vzbv board member Ramona Pop. "Anyone who makes sustainability promises must also provide comprehensible proof of them."
