The British Association for Sustainable Sport found that 94 percent of surveyed sports bodies consider the sector ill-prepared for worsening environmental conditions. Flood risks currently threaten over a quarter of analyzed English soccer and rugby venues, with damages already costing AFC Wimbledon nearly £900,000 in 2025. Between the 2021-22 and 2025-26 seasons, at least 118 weather-related postponements disrupted the top six tiers of English men's football. To safeguard vulnerable infrastructure, advocates are now urging the creation of a £30 million annual grassroots protection fund.
Key points
Severe weather causes frequent fixture postponements that directly undermine revenue gene…: Severe weather causes frequent fixture postponements that directly undermine revenue generation across professional and lower-tier athletic leagues.
Grassroots sports participation faces severe declines as heatwaves and drought conditions…: Grassroots sports participation faces severe declines as heatwaves and drought conditions create hazardous playing surfaces and deter activity.
The British Association for Sustainable Sport recommends establishing formal adaptation p…: The British Association for Sustainable Sport recommends establishing formal adaptation plans alongside a £30 million annual grassroots support fund.
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LONDON, Nov 5 : Climate change is becoming a growing threat to British sport, damaging facilities, disrupting fixtures, increasing costs and deterring participation, according to a report that warns the sector is dangerously under-prepared for extreme weather.
Every organisation surveyed reported being affected by extreme weather in 2026 and 94 per cent said sport was under-prepared for climate change. Yet a separate review of professional club disclosures found only nine had explicitly identified climate or extreme weather as a business risk.
The report by the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) paints a stark picture of a sporting landscape built for weather conditions that no longer exist, with impacts felt from Premier League stadiums to grassroots playing fields.
"Sport is already paying the price for climate change through damaged grounds, rising insurance costs, lost match-day income and lost opportunities for people to be active," BASIS founder Russell Seymour said in the report.
"The game has changed. Extreme weather is no longer a series of isolated disruptions; it is a material, recurring and intensifying business risk."
Record-high ocean temperatures are driving storms further east and keeping them fueled longer, triggering deadly disruptions, mass evacuations, and transit halts from Japan to the Philippines. Forecasters from the UK Met Office anticipate the underlying climate driver will persist through early next year. With energy levels doubling long-term averages, regional infrastructure faces months of heightened exposure to intense precipitation and destructive wind tracks.
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