Welcome to Women's Sport Insider! 

If the Winter Olympic Games have turned you into a curling connoisseur or sparked an unexpected obsession with figure skating, you're not alone. A packed schedule of sport is truly providing a welcome distraction from gloomy February days.  

Yet the Games are more than a sporting spectacle. They also offer a global stage on which to discuss the wider social issues surrounding sport, such as climate change. And so, in today's edition, I explore the increasingly inextricable link between sustainability and women's sport. 

From the urban buzz of Milan to the snowy peaks surrounding Cortina d'Ampezzo, this month's Winter Olympic Games have been unfolding right across northern Italy. 

While this may prove tricky for fans hoping to see ski mountaineering in Valtellina one day and short track speed skating in Milan the next, this decision has been made with sustainability in mind, with existing infrastructure prioritised over the construction of new venues. 

Indeed, sustainability has been a central theme at the Games, with organisers and campaigners alike emphasising the need to protect the fragile alpine ecosystems that make winter sport possible in the first place.  

While climate change is much discussed at the moment, it might not seem like a natural topic for a women's sport newsletter. But look a little closer and the connection is hard to ignore – sustainability is becoming increasingly intertwined with women's sport. 

Unfortunately, the foundation of the relationship between women's sport and sustainability is inequality. 

According to UN Environment, 80 per cent of people displaced by climate change are women. Environmental hazards tend to amplify existing gender inequalities, from access to healthcare and education to economic security and physical safety. 

The environmental crisis hits women harder, and sport is no exception. Despite the progress of recent years, female athletes still contend with unequal access to resources – from lower pay and sponsorship opportunities to inferior training facilities and more precarious playing conditions. These structural disparities leave them more vulnerable to the physical and financial disruption caused by climate change. 

Take football, for example. In the UK, the top-flight teams in men's football play in big stadia with robust infrastructure. But most teams across the Women's Super League (WSL), Women's Championship, FA Women's National League and Scottish Women's Premier League play at smaller grounds, often shared with other teams, making them more vulnerable to extreme weather.  

Just this weekend, Brighton's WSL clash with Arsenal was called off 90 minutes before kick-off after the pitch at Broadfield Stadium in Crawley was deemed waterlogged. 

Indeed, climate modelling released by Green Football's The Great Save and Zurich Resilience Solutions in May 2025 revealed that over three-quarters of pitches used by women's teams in the above leagues could face serious climate-related threats within the next 25 years. 

By 2050, these pitches may be subject to wind gusts of up to 120 miles per hour, flood depths approaching two metres, heatwaves lasting more than two weeks and prolonged droughts.  

Some female football players are already feeling the impact. Planet League's 'Women's Football and Climate Change: The Players' Perspective' report found over two-thirds of players believe climate change is already affecting football, with more than 70 per cent saying playing conditions have worsened as a result. 

From heatwaves to frozen fields, extreme weather is not just disrupting the fixture calendar, but also the safety, development and career progression of female athletes. Because the conditions they compete in are often already more precarious, the impact lands harder. 

In Planet League's report, 96 per cent of the female players surveyed agreed they had a significant role in championing climate action. Indeed, a growing awareness of the impact of climate change on women's sport is fuelling a rising wave of advocacy. For many female athletes, environmental action isn't just a side interest but is tied directly to the future of their sport.  

Back at the Winter Olympics, American cross-country skier Jessie Diggins has so far battled through the pain of bruised ribs to earn a bronze medal in the women's 10km freestyle. Now a four-time Olympic medallist, Diggins has been using her platform to talk about climate change.  

As board member of Protect Our Winters (POW), Diggins has lobbied policymakers and trained fellow athletes to advocate for climate action – snowboarder Bea Kim, freestyle skiers Olivia Giaccio and Svea Irving, ski mountaineer Anna Gibson and cross-country skier Julia Kern are among the Olympians also in the POW Athlete Alliance. 

Speaking to The Guardian in late 2024, Diggins reflected on why her work mattered: "It's important to be more than an athlete. To care passionately about climate. To not be perfect and still take action. People need sports heroes who are imperfect; they need to see reality. I sleep better at night because I'm using my platform for more than just winning." 

On the water, two-time Olympic sailing gold medallist Hannah Mills is one of sport's most influential voices on sustainability, setting up the Big Plastic Pledge and co-founding Athletes of the World. Meanwhile, Canadian rower Gabrielle Smith was recently named as an IOC Climate Action Awards finalist for her Rising Tides project, which focuses on improving water quality and restoring Canada's waterways. 

In football, Tottenham Hotspur defender Amy James-Turner has helped lead the conversation, spearheading Planet League's report and calling for change across the game. But she is far from alone.  

In October 2024, more than 100 professional female players signed an open letter urging FIFA to reconsider its sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco, calling instead for commercial partnerships aligned with a "safe future for our planet", among other values. 

In addition, 44 players competing at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup – led by Denmark international Sofie Junge Pedersen – committed to taking climate action over the flights taken to and from Australia and New Zealand for the tournament.  

The players, who also included Canada captain Jessie Fleming and Italy captain Elena Linari, donated money to a combination of climate-resilience and carbon-offsetting initiatives. 

In an interview with Women's Sport Insider last year, James-Turner explained why she felt female players were often at the forefront of conversations about sustainability in football.  

"Women's football has always had to fight to exist," she said. "I believe that's why we have so many great advocates for social change in the game – brave players, with an authentic voice, who can empathise with the outside world.  

"We will always continue to push the needle. The motivation to 'leave the shirt in a better place than we found it' will always exist in all of us." 

Indeed, women's sport has a history of leading social change. That legacy has shaped a generation of athletes unafraid to speak out and built an audience that values purpose as much as performance. 

With all the above in mind, it is unsurprising to discover that women's sport fans really care about sustainability. 

The She's A Baller survey of over 1,600 women's football fans showed 87 per cent of respondents believed it was either very important or somewhat important for women's football to be environmentally sustainable. The study also highlighted an appreciation for female players advocating climate action, with 93 per cent of the respondents strongly agreeing or agreeing with that sentiment. 

This wasn't passive support, either. Of the respondents, 88 per cent actively engaged in eco-friendly practices such as recycling, and 67 per cent said they did their best to adopt eco-conscious habits.  

That commitment to sustainability influences relationships with brands and sponsors, too. According to a report from Wasserman's The Collective, 32 per cent of female sports fans globally favour brands that care about the environment, compared to 29 per cent of male fans.  

Meanwhile, the Women's Sport Trust reports that 77 per cent of sponsors involved in women's sport invest in the space to showcase their CSR credentials – a reflection of an audience that rewards brands aligning with its values. 

At its core, the connection between women's sport and sustainability is straightforward. The athletes care. The fans care. And, most importantly, the future of women's sport depends on protecting the environments it's played in.  

As women's sport continues to grow, it must hold on to the values it was built on. Taking sustainability seriously isn't just good for the planet – it's essential to the authentic and lasting growth of the industry.