Project Information: ERASMUS+ SPORT FREEKICKS
The FREE KICKS project, co-funded by the European Union* and coordinated by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA), and in partnership with FC Porto, Fundación Real Betis Balompie, Malmö FF, Racing Club, Romanian Football Federation and European Club Association (ECA), will address the topics of circular economy and environmental sustainability in football organisations.
Read full press release here.
No organisation in the football world has yet pursued the adoption of EU environmental management tools, such as Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), EU Ecolabel, Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) or Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF).
Against this backdrop, the FREE KICKS (Football Relies on EMAS and ECOLABEL to Keep Innovating on Circularity as a Key for Sustainability) Project – co-funded by the European Union* – aims to trigger football’s transition towards the goals of the Green Deal and the New Circular Economy Action Plan, at collective and individual levels, by supporting:
- The uptake of leading-edge environmental management practices and sustainable organisational models among national football associations and professional clubs, focusing on operational activities
- Climate-conscious and environment-friendly behavioural patterns among football organisations
Project coordinators, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, worked with project partners on three key task areas, to:
- Assessed the sustainability needs and environmental priorities of the participating football organisations, and three participating project partners will engage in obtaining EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) registration during the project
Read Football Goes Green: Four Organisations Score EMAS Environmental Certification
2. Improved the environmental governance of the football supply chain in the participating football organisations
3. Calculated the environmental footprint of three partner football organisations through the PEF or OEF methodological standards of the European Commission using a life cycle analysis (LCA)
View Life Cycle Assessments here.
From these efforts, each football organisation, with the support of SSSA and project partner EFC, defined their own Environmental Improvement Plan.
Sport Positive, the London-based organisation that heads up world-leading Sport Positive Summit, Sport Positive Leagues, The Climate of Sport Podcast, intelligence bulletins, media and support to increase action and ambition on sustainability, climate change, biodiversity and environmental justice in sport, will support the project as communication and dissemination partner. This role included ensuring the learnings and take-aways from project actions are shared with the world of football and sport, to encourage increased action throughout the community.
Over the project’s 30-month duration, from February 2023 – August 2025, FREE KICKS partners have shared progress and learnings via dissemination moments, including webinars, awareness-raising events, a mid-term report and conferences, knowledge sharing via podcasts, social media, newsletters and a final report and conference detailing the findings and achievements of the project.
Read EU-Funded Football and Environment Project Reaches Over Six Million People
If you have questions about the project, please email [email protected]
*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 EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them
