Free Kicks project

Free Kicks project

Project Findings

European Commission Green Forum: Football Goes Green: EMAS and the FREE KICKS Project

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The FREE KICKS project, backed by the EU, helps football clubs across Europe to implement EMAS for greater sustainability. Discover how football is tackling its environmental impact and setting new standards for a greener future.

The FREE KICKS project, co-financed by the European Union, is supporting football organisations across Europe in their transition towards greater sustainability and circularity. By focusing on the implementation of EMAS and the development of environmental footprints at both product and organisational level, the project aims to embed robust environmental management practices within the football sector. Key football participants include FC Porto (Portugal), Real Betis Balompié (Spain), the Romanian Football Federation, Malmö FF (Sweden) and Racing Club (Argentina). The consortium is coordinated by Sant‘Anna School of Advanced Studies (Italy) and the Communication partner is Sports Positive (UK).

Football, as one of the world’s most popular sports, is associated with significant environmental impacts. These include greenhouse gas emissions from fan and team travel, stadium construction and operation, and substantial waste generation. Estimates suggest that global football activities contribute tens of millions of tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually. Addressing these impacts is essential for the sector’s long-term sustainability.

EMAS provides a robust framework for systematically assessing, managing, and reducing environmental impacts. Through the FREE KICKS project, participating clubs and federations are guided through every stage of EMAS implementation—from initial environmental review to the development of an environmental statement and the introduction of targeted improvement measures.

In March 2024, FC Porto became the first sports club in Europe to achieve EMAS registration, followed by Real Betis in August 2025 and Romanian Football Federation in September 2025 Malmö FF has completed the validation of its environmental statements and are expected to finalise registration shortly.

A key element of the FREE KICKS project is the promotion of collaboration and knowledge exchange among football organisations. By involving staff and stakeholders in the EMAS process, clubs have identified innovative solutions to environmental challenges. The publication of environmental statements also enhances transparency, enabling clubs to communicate progress and challenges directly to fans, partners, and the wider public.

The achievements and experiences of the FREE KICKS project will be presented at the Sport Positive Summit in London on 8 October 2025. A dedicated session will highlight the journey of participating clubs and federations towards EMAS registration, share best practices, and discuss opportunities for further progress in environmental management within football.

The FREE KICKS project demonstrates how structured environmental management systems such as EMAS can be effectively integrated into the football sector. Through collaborative approaches, transparency, and continuous improvement, football organisations are strengthening their commitment to sustainability and setting new benchmarks for the industry.

Related links:

Read the original article here.

Información e Informe Análisis de Ciclo de Vida del Real Betis Balompié

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English

Descargo de responsabilidad: este artículo ha sido traducido mediante inteligencia artificial y puede no ser completamente exacto. En caso de dudas o discrepancias, consulte la versión original en inglés.

Por primera vez, el proyecto FREE KICKS* ahora puede revelar el Informe de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) del Real Betis Balompié.

Un Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) es un procedimiento para evaluar, según criterios definidos y “científicos, la huella ambiental asociada a todas las etapas del ciclo de vida de un producto/servicio y con múltiples aspectos ambientales relevantes (ACV es un análisis multi- análisis de criterios).

Para este proyecto, los requisitos y directrices para la evaluación del ciclo de vida fueron proporcionados por la norma internacional ISO 14040/14044. La Huella Ambiental del Producto (HAP) es la metodología desarrollada por la Comisión Europea para medir y comunicar los posibles impactos ambientales del ciclo de vida de un producto o servicio.

Este completo informe explora el impacto medioambiental de un partido de fútbol de la temporada 2018-19 del Real Betis Balompié. Este lanzamiento representa un hito importante en la misión del proyecto FREE KICKS de abordar los temas de economía circular y sostenibilidad ambiental en las organizaciones de fútbol.

El objetivo de este informe es identificar los “puntos críticos ambientales” que contribuyen a la huella ambiental total de los partidos de fútbol profesional. Al identificar áreas como la movilidad de los aficionados, las oportunidades para mejoras específicas, como el aumento del transporte público, pueden reducir el impacto ambiental del partido. puede ser identificado.

La evaluación reveló que para el Real Betis Balompié, los principales impactos ambientales de un partido de fútbol profesional son:

  • Cambio climático 30.89%
  • Uso de recursos, fósiles 20.53%
  • Uso de recursos, minerales y metales 10.11%

Haga clic para leer el informe completo.

Para ver los ACV de otros socios de FREE KICKS, haga clic en el nombre del club a continuación:

FC Porto
Malmö FF
Racing Club

*Financiado por la Unión Europea. Las opiniones y puntos de vista expresados solo comprometen a su(s) autor(es) y no reflejan necesariamente los de la Unión Europea o los de la Agencia Ejecutiva Europea de Educación y Cultura (EACEA). Ni la Unión Europea ni la EACEA pueden ser considerados responsables de ellos.

Real Betis Balompié Life Cycle Assessment Information and Report

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Español

For the very first time, the FREE KICKS project* can now reveal the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Report for Real Betis Balompié.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a procedure for assessing, according to defined and “scientific criteria, the environmental footprint associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product/service and with multiple relevant environmental aspects (LCA is a multi-criteria analysis).

For this project, the requirements and guidelines for life cycle assessment were provided by international standard
ISO 14040/14044. The Product Environment Footprint (PEF) is the methodology developed by the European Commission to measure and communicate the potential life cycle environmental impacts of a product or service.

This comprehensive report explores the environmental impact of a football match Real Betis Balompie’s 2018-19 season. This release represents a significant milestone in the FREE KICKS project’s mission to address the topics of circular economy and environmental sustainability in football organisations.

The objective of this report is to identify the “environmental hotspots” that contribute to the total environmental footprint of professional football matches. By pinpointing areas such as supporter mobility, opportunities for targeted improvements such as increased public transport can reduce the environmental impact of the match can be identified.

The assessment revealed that for Real Betis Balompié, the main environmental impacts of a professional football match are:

  • Climate Change 30.89%
  • Resource use, fossils 20.53%
  • Resource use, minerals and metals 10.11%

Click to read the full report.

To see LCA’s for other FREE KICKS partners click the club name below:

FC Porto
Malmö FF
Racing Club

*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Informação e Relatório de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida do FC Porto

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English

Declaração: Este artigo foi traduzido por inteligência artificial e pode não ser completamente preciso. Em caso de dúvida ou discrepância, consulte a versão original em inglês.

Pela primeira vez, o projeto FREE KICKS* pode agora revelar o Relatório de Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) do FC Porto.

A Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) é um procedimento para avaliar, de acordo com critérios definidos e “científicos”, a pegada ambiental associada a todas as fases do ciclo de vida de um produto/serviço e a múltiplos aspetos ambientais relevantes (ACV é uma análise segundo critérios múltiplos).

Para este projeto, os requisitos e diretrizes para a avaliação do ciclo de vida foram fornecidos pela norma internacional ISO 14040/14044. A Pegada Ambiental dos Produtos (PEF) é a metodologia desenvolvida pela Comissão Europeia para medir e comunicar os potenciais impactos ambientais do ciclo de vida de um produto ou serviço.

Este relatório abrangente explora o impacto ambiental de um jogo de futebol da época 2022-23 do FC Porto. Este lançamento representa um marco significativo na missão do projeto FREE KICKS de abordar os temas da economia circular e da sustentabilidade ambiental nas organizações de futebol.

O objetivo deste relatório é identificar os “hotspots ambientais” que contribuem para a pegada ambiental total dos jogos de futebol profissional. Ao identificar áreas como a mobilidade dos adeptos, é possível identificar oportunidades de melhorias específicas, como o aumento dos transportes públicos, que podem reduzir o impacto ambiental do jogo.

A avaliação revelou que para o FC Porto, os principais impactes ambientais de um jogo de futebol profissional são:

  • Alterações climáticas 33.3%
  • Uso de recursos, fósseis 20.0%
  • Utilização de recursos, minerais e metais 7.7%

Clique para ler o relatório completo.

Para ver LCA’s para outros parceiros FREE KICKS clique no nome do clube abaixo:

Malmö FF
Racing Club
Real Betis Balompié

*Financiado pela União Europeia. Os pontos de vista e as opiniões expressas são as do(s) autor(es) e não refletem necessariamente a posição da União Europeia ou da Agência de Execução Europeia da Educação e da Cultura (EACEA). Nem a União Europeia nem a EACEA podem ser tidos como responsáveis por essas opiniões.

FC Porto Life Cycle Assessment Information and Report

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Português

For the very first time, the FREE KICKS project* can now reveal the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Report for FC Porto.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a procedure for assessing, according to defined and “scientific criteria, the environmental footprint associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product/service and with multiple relevant environmental aspects (LCA is a multi-criteria analysis).

For this project, the requirements and guidelines for the life cycle assessment were provided by international standard
ISO 14040/14044. The Product Environment Footprint (PEF) is the methodology developed by the European Commission to measure and communicate the potential life cycle environmental impacts of a product or service.

This comprehensive report explores the environmental impact of a football match from FC Porto’s 2022-23 season. This release represents a significant milestone in the FREE KICKS project’s mission to address the topics of circular economy and environmental sustainability in football organisations.

The objective of this report is to identify the “environmental hotspots” that contribute to the total environmental footprint of professional football matches. By pinpointing areas such as supporter mobility, opportunities for targeted improvements such as increased public transport can reduce the environmental impact of the match can be identified.

The assessment revealed that for FC Porto, the main environmental impacts of a professional football match are:

  • Climate change 33.3%
  • Resource use, fossils 20.0%
  • Resource use, minerals and metals 7.7%

Click to read the full report.

To see LCA’s for other FREE KICKS partners click the club name below:

Malmö FF
Racing Club
Real Betis Balompié

*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Información e informe de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida de Racing Club

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English

Descargo de responsabilidad: Este artículo ha sido traducido por inteligencia artificial y puede no ser completamente preciso. Si hay alguna duda o discrepancia, consulte la versión original en inglés.

Por primera vez, el proyecto FREE KICKS* puede revelar el Informe de Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) de Racing Club.

Un Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV) es un procedimiento para evaluar, de acuerdo con criterios definidos y “científicos”, la huella ambiental asociada a todas las etapas del ciclo de vida de un producto/servicio y con múltiples aspectos ambientales relevantes (ACV es un análisis multicriterio).

Para este proyecto, los requisitos y directrices para la evaluación del ciclo de vida fueron proporcionados por la norma internacional ISO 14040/14044. La Huella Ambiental del Producto (HAP) es la metodología desarrollada por la Comisión Europea para medir y comunicar los posibles impactos ambientales del ciclo de vida de un producto o servicio.

Este exhaustivo informe explora el impacto medioambiental de un partido de fútbol de la temporada 2022 del Racing Club. Este lanzamiento representa un hito importante en la misión del proyecto FREE KICKS de abordar los temas de la economía circular y la sostenibilidad ambiental en las organizaciones de fútbol.

El objetivo de este informe es identificar los “puntos críticos ambientales” que contribuyen a la huella ambiental total de los partidos de fútbol profesional. Al identificar áreas como la movilidad de los aficionados, se pueden identificar oportunidades de mejoras específicas, como el aumento del transporte público, que pueden reducir el impacto ambiental del partido.

La evaluación reveló que para Racing Club, los principales impactos ambientales de un partido de fútbol profesional son:

  • Cambio climático 30.9%
  • Uso de recursos, fósiles 19.3%
  • Consumo de agua 8.0%

Haga clic para leer el informe completo.

Para ver los LCA de otros socios de FREE KICKS, haga clic en el nombre del club a continuación:

FC Porto
Malmö
Real Betis Balompié

*Financiado por la Unión Europea. Sin embargo, los puntos de vista y opiniones expresados son únicamente los del autor o autores y no reflejan necesariamente los de la Unión Europea o de la Agencia Ejecutiva Europea de Educación y Cultura (EACEA). Ni la Unión Europea ni la EACEA pueden ser consideradas responsables de ellos.

Racing Club Life Cycle Assessment Information and Report

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Español

For the very first time, the FREE KICKS project* can now reveal the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Report for Racing Club.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a procedure for assessing, according to defined and “scientific criteria, the environmental footprint associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product/service and with multiple relevant environmental aspects (LCA is a multi-criteria analysis).

For this project, the requirements and guidelines for life cycle assessment were provided by international standard
ISO 14040/14044. The Product Environment Footprint (PEF) is the methodology developed by the European Commission to measure and communicate the potential life cycle environmental impacts of a product or service.

This comprehensive report explores the environmental impact of a football match from Racing Club’s 2022 season. This release represents a significant milestone in the FREE KICKS project’s mission to address the topics of circular economy and environmental sustainability in football organisations.

The objective of this report is to identify the “environmental hotspots” that contribute to the total environmental footprint of professional football matches. By pinpointing areas such as supporter mobility, opportunities for targeted improvements such as increased public transport can reduce the environmental impact of the match can be identified.

The assessment revealed that for Racing Club, the main environmental impacts of a professional football match are:

  • Climate change 30.9%
  • Resource use, fossils 19.3%
  • Water use 8.0%

Click to read the full report.

To see LCA’s for other FREE KICKS partners click the club name below:

Malmö FF
FC Porto
Real Betis Balompié

*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Malmö FF Livscykelanalys Information och rapport

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English

Friskrivningsklausul: Den här artikeln har översatts av artificiell intelligens och kanske inte är helt korrekt. Om det finns några tvivel eller avvikelser, se originalversionen på engelska.

För allra första gången kan FREE KICKS-projektet* nu avslöja rapporten Livscykelanalys (LCA) för Malmö FF.

En livscykelanalys (LCA) är en procedur för att bedöma, enligt definierade och “vetenskapliga kriterier, det miljöavtryck som är förknippat med alla stadier av livscykeln för en produkt/tjänst och med flera relevanta miljöaspekter (LCA är en multi- kriterieanalys).

För detta projekt tillhandahålls kraven och riktlinjerna för livscykelanalys av den internationella standarden ISO 14040/14044. Product Environment Footprint (PEF) är den metod som utvecklats av Europeiska kommissionen för att mäta och kommunicera de potentiella miljöpåverkan under livscykeln av en produkt eller tjänst.

Denna omfattande rapport undersöker miljöpåverkan från en elitfotbollsmatch för Malmö FF från säsongen 2022. Den här utgåvan representerar en viktig milstolpe i FREE KICKS-projektets uppdrag att ta upp ämnen som cirkulär ekonomi och miljömässig hållbarhet i fotbollsorganisationer.

Syftet med denna rapport är att identifiera de “miljömässiga hotspots” som bidrar till  elifotbollsmatch totala miljöavtryck. Genom att peka ut områden som supporterrörlighet kan möjligheter till riktade förbättringar som ökad kollektivtrafik minska matchens miljöpåverkan. kan identifieras.

Utvärderingen visade att för Malmö FF är den huvudsakliga miljöpåverkan från en elitfotbollsmatch:

  • Klimatförändring 32,9 % ^
  • Resursanvändning, fossiler 15,5 %^
  • Resursanvändning, 7,5 %

Klicka för att läsa hela rapporten.^

Klicka på klubbnamnet nedan för att se LCA för andra FREE KICKS-partners:

FC Porto
Racing Club
Real Betis Balompié

*Finansieras av Europeiska unionen. De synpunkter och åsikter som uttrycks är endast upphovsmannens [upphovsmännens] och utgör inte Europeiska unionens eller Europeiska genomförandeorganet för utbildning och kulturs (EACEA) officiella ståndpunkt. Varken Europeiska unionen eller EACEA tar något ansvar för dessa.

^ ändrad 2024-05-20

Malmö FF Life Cycle Assessment Information and Report

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Svenska

For the very first time, the FREE KICKS project* can now reveal the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Report for Malmö FF.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a procedure for assessing, according to defined and “scientific criteria, the environmental footprint associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product/service and with multiple relevant environmental aspects (LCA is a multi-criteria analysis).

For this project, the requirements and guidelines for life cycle assessment were provided by international standard
ISO 14040/14044. The Product Environment Footprint (PEF) is the methodology developed by the European Commission to measure and communicate the potential life cycle environmental impacts of a product or service.

This comprehensive report explores the environmental impact of a football match from Malmö FF’s 2022 season. This release represents a significant milestone in the FREE KICKS project’s mission to address the topics of circular economy and environmental sustainability in football organisations.

The objective of this report is to identify the “environmental hotspots” that contribute to the total environmental footprint of professional football matches. By pinpointing areas such as supporter mobility, opportunities for targeted improvements such as increased public transport can reduce the environmental impact of the match can be identified.

The assessment revealed that for Malmö FF the main environmental impacts of a professional football match are:

  • Climate change 32.9%^
  • Resource use, fossils 15.5%^
  • Resource use, minerals and metals 7.5%^

Click to read the full report.^

To see LCA’s for other FREE KICKS partners click the club name below:

FC Porto
Racing Club
Real Betis Balompié

*Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

^ Amended 20 May 2024