Sport – particularly football – has a unique position to act as a moral guide for society. We see this clearly with the taking of the knee in support of Black Lives Matter. But in the mess of the European Super League announcement and its quick disband, elite level football – or it least its owners – showed themselves to be badly out of step with their fans and wider society.

Writes Planet Earth Games founder Chris Broadbent

As we emerge from the pandemic and the widespread struggle ordinary people are facing, the notion that their move to make even more millions would be welcomed, was mind-blowing.  We need sport to be a leader, amplifying social movements, demonstrating true empathy with the lives of the communities that built them and yes, setting an example on environmental sustainability too.

Sport is tribal and it has the power to take vast swathes of the public with them. So, when Real Madrid President Florentino Perez justified the move in part to appeal more to young people, we had to wonder what he was basing this on.

It certainly wasn’t anything to do with one of the primary motivations of young people: the environment. According to the World Economic Forum “Climate change and the destruction of nature remain the biggest global concerns for young people around the world.”

Furthermore, young people, practice what they preach. As consumers, research finds that “Millennials want their purchases to make them feel good…. and value products that meet both a logistical and emotional need.”

And this research is from before the pandemic. We know that the pandemic has only increased the visibility and passion around environmental issues. Are we now to believe that younger people will get behind a product that creates a greater carbon footprint by encouraging more air travel for players and fans? While further enriching billionaire owners at the expense of domestic and local economies? Unlikely.

They may be a long way from playing at the Bernabeu Stadium, but League Two Forest Green Rovers are a much better thought-leader in this area, continually demonstrating they are far more in touch with a changing world with ever-evolving priorities.

The ecological club, who set a challenge in February’s Planet Earth Games, field a vegan team on an entirely organic pitch and are in the process of creating a new home that will have the lowest carbon footprint of any stadium in the world.

They are a club on the up. After a long history in regional Gloucestershire leagues, they first achieved Football League status five years ago. They have maintained that and with support growing, including supporters clubs in USA and Norway, their appeal is broadening.

Forest Green Rovers shows that football can still take the lead on social matters. But it cannot lead where greed is the prime motive. We expect better from the leading football clubs, their owners and their players. It’s time for positive change to align Healthy People and a Healthy Planet