Cardiff City's Environmental Footprint

Cardiff City Football Club's promotion to the Premier League next season means that its players and fans can look forward to competing against clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Cardiff's promotion is a great and long awaited achievement, and will not only mean more money for the Club but also a welcome boost to the local economy. However academics have noted that promotion will inevitably mean more traffic and congestion on home match days, as thousands of fans descend on the city to support their club.

Research conducted by Dr Andrea Collins and her colleagues at Cardiff University found that the 2004 FA Cup Final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium produced an environmental footprint more than 3000 times larger than the pitch it was played on. Almost 55% was due to supporter travel as two thirds of journeys were made by car.

Dr Collins said "Within a relatively short space of time large football events can have significant environmental impacts. If more fans were encouraged to travel by train or bus on match day, we could reduce the travel footprint by as much as 24%.

"Let's hope that the relevant authorities and transport companies will instigate the necessary measures and encourage Cardiff supporters to use public transport, and score green as well as blue goals next season".