{"id":13162,"date":"2026-05-28T08:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=13162"},"modified":"2026-05-28T08:15:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T01:15:56","slug":"canada-should-ban-fossil-fuel-ads-ahead-of-the-2026-fifa-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/canada-should-ban-fossil-fuel-ads-ahead-of-the-2026-fifa-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada should ban fossil fuel ads ahead of the 2026 FIFA World\u00a0Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup arrives in Toronto soon, it will be accompanied by one of its highly controversial Major Worldwide Partners, Saudi Arabia\u2019s national fossil fuel company, Saudi Aramco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aramco is one of the world\u2019s single-largest oil producers. Estimates suggest it was responsible for emitting around 1.79 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2024 alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2025, Toronto City Council rejected a motion that would have banned fossil fuel advertisements on publicly owned buildings and assets, including high-traffic places like BMO Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduced by Coun. Dianne Saxe in 2024, the motion was an attempt to align city policy with Toronto\u2019s climate action goals of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the city will welcome one of the world\u2019s largest advertising platforms, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Aramco as one of the major sponsors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As FIFA comes to town with Aramco in tow, now is the time for Toronto City Council to revive discussions about banning fossil fuel advocacy ads on city assets, including at FIFA\u2019s host venue in the city, BMO Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A controversial deal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Advertising is a major source of revenue for FIFA. Between 2019 and 2022, the non-profit sporting federation made almost US$1.8 billion from selling marketing rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FIFA-Aramco partnership is slated to run until the end of 2027 and spans the 2026 men\u2019s World Cup and the 2027 women\u2019s World Cup. In 2024, Aramco\u2019s president and CEO Amin H. Nasser said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThrough this partnership with FIFA we aim to contribute to football development and harness the power of sport to make an impact around the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The collaboration attracted widespread criticism. In 2024, more than 130 women soccer players from 27 countries signed an open letter to FIFA calling for an end to the sponsorship deal in a condemnation of the state-owned company\u2019s role in \u201cburning football\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various environmental and sports advocacy groups believe FIFA is walking back its climate commitments, especially on its responsibility to use its platform for climate action and fan engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2025 report by Scientists for Global Responsibility and the New Weather Institute stated that more than 75 per cent of soccer\u2019s annual emissions can be attributed to its sponsorship deals with \u201chigh carbon companies\u201d like fossil fuel giants, airlines and fast food companies. As the report states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThese deals stimulate carbon intensive consumer demand by promoting heavily polluting products and lifestyles (the extra emissions from which we term \u2018sponsored emissions\u2019) much in the same way tobacco sponsorship of sport in the past encouraged smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

FIFA describes the World Cup as the \u201cmost effective international marketing platform.\u201d Its list of partners, described as \u201ctop-tier sponsors,\u201d includes other corporations with large carbon footprints, like Coca-Cola.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soccer is particularly vulnerable to worsening climate change. A failure to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt properly is threatening the world\u2019s most popular sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extreme weather events, like flooding and heatwaves, as well as exposure to poor air quality and pollutants, are some of the most significant health threats affecting spectators and athletes alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from general health concerns, athlete performance and fair competition suffer due to negative climate impacts, harming the fairness and legitimacy of competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Aramco is primarily owned by the Saudi government, which has been sharply criticized for human rights abuses at home and for committing war crimes in neighbouring Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global push to ban advertising<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres called for all countries to implement restrictions on fossil fuel advertising due to harms to human health and the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later that year, The Hague became the first city to ban fossil fuel advertising in public spaces. The ban includes ads for high-carbon products and services like aviation, cruises, fossil-fueled or hybrid automobiles, gas-supply contracts and electricity from fossil fuel sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Florence made history in February by becoming the first Italian city to vote in favour of a fossil fuel advertising ban. The ban targets not only fossil fuel companies but also airlines, fuel-powered vehicles and cruise ship companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This action was taken in line with more than 50 other cities already restricting the advertising options of major polluters. Toronto\u2019s failed attempt to ban advertising comes amid a global movement in which cities are restricting fossil fuel advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key concern raised by Toronto city councillors was in the failed motion\u2019s wording: \u201cAdvertising on public assets which promotes the burning of fossil fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Saxe asked staff to clearly define in the motion what constitutes advertising that promotes fossil fuel burning, ambiguity remained. It was this uncertainty that ultimately resulted in the motion\u2019s rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scope of a fossil fuel advertising ban in Toronto should align with that of The Hague and other cities to ensure comprehensive restrictions, eliminating any loopholes that might permit marketing of high-carbon products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/a>
Aramco\u2019s Wasit Gas Plant north of Jubail Industrial City in eastern Saudi Arabia. The FIFA-Aramco partnership is slated to run until the end of 2027 and spans the 2026 men\u2019s World Cup and the 2027 women\u2019s World Cup. (Saudi Aramco)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Efforts in Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fossil fuel ads have resulted in controversy in Canada\u2019s other host city, Vancouver. In 2024, Canada\u2019s advertising standards body found that a campaign by pro-natural gas interests was misleading for claiming \u201cB.C. LNG will reduce global emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been attempts to ban fossil fuel ads in British Columbia; however, these have not yet been successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the national level, former NDP MP Charlie Angus proposed Bill C-372 in 2024 that would ban fossil fuel advertising nationwide if passed into law. All orders of government in Canada should take such steps to ensure fossil fuel companies cannot use platforms like FIFA\u2019s to advertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIFA\u2019s impending arrival with a fossil fuel giant like Aramco should be a reminder of Canada\u2019s failure to align with historic fossil fuel advertising bans being passed globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Toronto and Vancouver prepare to co-host one of the biggest sports events in the world, Canadian governments should revisit a ban on advertising, and advocates, residents and soccer fans should turn up the pressure to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soccer is often celebrated as the most popular sport in the world. If it is to remain the \u201cworld\u2019s game,\u201d it must reflect the interests of players, fans \u2014 and the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Madeleine Orr<\/a>, Assistant Professor, Sport Ecology, University of Toronto<\/a><\/em>; Samira Hussein<\/a>, Master of Science in Sustainability Management, University of Toronto<\/a><\/em>, and Sara Durante<\/a>, Master of Science in Sustainability Management Candidate, University of Toronto<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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