Premier League clubs urged to take action on hidden danger to players' health

03 May 2023 , 01:00

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Air pollution is a real problem in the UK's cities (Image: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Premier League players are running the risk of contracting serious diseases due to the worrying levels of air pollution inside stadiums.

A new study has shown that Premier League stadiums are in some of the worst-affected areas in the country for air quality. Campaigners from Climate Clubs and Green Football Weekend have compiled data which assesses the levels of toxic pollutants which can cause asthma, respiratory inflammation, strokes and even promote cancers.

They found that, unsurprisingly, London’s clubs are situated in badly polluted areas, with Chelsea ’s Stamford Bridge topping the table. The Blues’ home, in west London, lies in the 97th percentile in terms of pollution in the UK, meaning just three per cent of addresses in the country are worst affected.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (95th), Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium (95th), Fulham ’s Craven Cottage (94th) and Leeds’ Elland Road (93rd) make up the rest of the top five in the study.

The problem is just as bad in the women’s game with Women’s Super League stadiums also situated in badly polluted areas. The study, which uses Imperial College data from addresspollution.org, found that players from Tottenham, Chelsea, Aston Villa, West Ham and Manchester City are most at risk of experiencing problems associated with air pollution.

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Wycombe Wanderers midfielder David Wheeler is one of the footballers determined to drive change when it comes to tackling climate change and environmental issues in sport. Wheeler was recently named as the Professional Footballers’ Association’s first sustainability champion and was appalled by the findings.

Stamford Bridge lies one of the most polluted areas in the UK (Stephanie Meek / Getty Images)

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"These findings show clearly why we must address air pollution,” he said. “Not only does poor air quality affect a players’ ability to perform at their best in a match, it has the potential to cause some serious health issues too for players and fans.

"But the good news is that football has incredible power to drive change. By raising awareness of the issue and taking action as clubs, as leagues and in our individual lives, we can make sure our air is cleaner, our bodies are healthier and our teams play better."

Despite a worrying reliance on short-haul flights, there is a growing movement in football towards speeding up sustainability projects. Green Football Weekend ran in February and saw 80 clubs come together in an effort to engage their fans on the topic, but the Premier League itself has remained quiet.

Earlier this year, in response to questions sent by Mirror Football, the Premier League pointed out they have recently appointed a head of sustainability, have launched educational tools to promote environmental issues to children and included carbon reduction goals in the league’s handbook.

Alongside four Premier League clubs, the organisation has committed to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework. It aims to cut its emissions in half by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 and is due to detail how it plans to do that by releasing an environmental strategy this year.

Felix Keith