Former Arsenal goalkeeper Alexéi Rojas urges football to tackle climate change
Alexéi Rojas, a 21-year-old former Arsenal goalkeeper, is using his platform to champion sustainability in professional football and warn about climate change's impact on the sport. His advocacy has already influenced teammates and sparked conversations about how football's carbon footprint threatens its own future, particularly affecting grassroots communities and vulnerable regions worldwide.
Rojas, inspired by his mother's work in wind energy, began advocating for changes at Arsenal's academy training ground by age 15, calling for recycling bins, reusable bottles and reduced energy waste. He has since travelled to Kenya with Charity Boots to deliver donated kit, spoken at the London School of Economics and the Net Zero Summit, and uses kit made from recycled materials whose manufacturer removes plastic from the oceans. The extreme 2026 summer weather left grassroots pitches across the United Kingdom unplayable for months, illustrating how climate change already threatens the sport's accessibility.
- Former goalkeeper pushing professional football to prioritise sustainability.
- Changed academy practices and inspired teammates by age 15.
- Climate change already affecting grassroots pitches, he warns.
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Alexéi Rojas is a 21-year-old former Arsenal goalkeeper who has become an advocate for sustainability in professional football. He is using his profile to push the sport to tackle its environmental impact and the threat of climate change.
Climate change poses a real risk to football itself, particularly for grassroots communities and vulnerable regions worldwide. The extreme weather of 2026 has already made many grassroots pitches across the UK unplayable for months, demonstrating how environmental change is already affecting the sport's accessibility at grassroots level.
Rojas's interest in sustainability was inspired by his mother's work in wind energy, and he began advocating for changes at Arsenal's academy training ground from age 15 by pushing for recycling facilities and reduced energy consumption. He has since travelled to Kenya with Charity Boots to deliver donated kit, spoken at major events including the London School of Economics and the Net Zero Summit, and chosen to wear kit made from recycled materials.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “The Hotspot | Alexéi Rojas: ‘I’m passionate about sustainability – I told Arsenal: we need to fix this’”.