Is World Cup's hunger to grow too costly for planet?

The largest and most far-flung World Cup kicks off in 12 months with a record 48 teams spread across Canada, the United States and Mexico, and sceptics are asking whether its frenzied growth is worth the environmental cost.

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LAUSANNE - The largest and most far-flung World Cup kicks off in 12 months with a record 48 teams spread across Canada, the United States and Mexico, and sceptics are asking whether its frenzied growth is worth the environmental cost.

Fifa, the governing body of world football, like the International Olympic Committee, insists it is working to reduce the carbon footprint. But the expansion from 32 competing nations to 48, and the resulting move to multiple hosts both in 2026 and in 2030, leads critics to question that claim.

"Unlike the case of the Olympic Games, where the carbon footprints have been reducing over the last several editions, this is totally opposite in the case of the men's World Cup," David Gogishvili, a geographer at the University of Lausanne and a specialist in mega sports events, told AFP.

While the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was certainly compact, it drew criticism for its oversized, air-conditioned stadiums built at breakneck speed in a small country with a scorching climate.