January 15 – Lega Serie A is starting to treat sustainability less like a side project and more like part of the job. The 2024/25 Coppa Italia Frecciarossa Final was set up as a full-scale operational test, using the match as a real-world trial for how a major football event can be planned, measured, and improved through an environmental lens under the league’s Road to Zero framework.
Rather than focusing on slogans, Serie A used the final as a controlled environment to understand how a modern football event actually functions. All measurable criteria were mapped in detail because if football wants to lead on environmental issues, a clear understanding of its footprint is the foundation.
The final produced 175.8 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. By breaking emissions down across Scope 1, 2, and 3, the league now has a consistent dataset that allows year-over-year comparisons.
Travel by teams, staff, officials, partners, and guests remains the largest source of emissions for major matches. That is not unique to Serie A. It is a structural issue across global football.
For the final, transport planning was coordinated across stakeholders, with rail prioritised where possible and logistics centralised to cut down on duplication. These choices were as much about cost control and reliability as they were about emissions, showing how environmental thinking is increasingly overlapping with operational discipline.
The final venue, the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, became the testing ground. The event ran entirely on renewable electricity, with energy use, water consumption, and waste tracked in detail. Around 20,000 kWh of electricity and 310,000 litres of water were consumed. Those numbers now sit inside Serie A’s planning models, giving future finals clearer benchmarks.
Procurement was another important piece of the project. Circular principles were applied across catering, packaging, and consumables, with stricter standards on waste reduction and sorting. While these steps are often framed publicly as green initiatives, their internal value is just as practical.
Taken together, the Coppa Italia Final shows how football is beginning to lead by doing, not talking. As leagues look for ways to stay credible on environmental issues, Serie A’s approach suggests that football’s influence may come from how it runs its biggest nights.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at [email protected]