How Mexican World Cup Stadiums Achieved FIFA’s Environmental Certifications

Because of their scale, soccer stadiums require a fair amount of energy and water. A single match activates all their systems at the same time: field irrigation, toilets, lighting, ventilation, and services for tens of thousands of people. In that time, they also generate large volumes of waste, mainly plastics and food trash.

For the 2026 World Cup, the first to be held in three countries in 16 different stadiums, FIFA maintained the requirement that the venues must have LEED environmental certifications, which measure performance in water, energy, and waste management. To get those certifications, several Mexican stadiums needed updates.

For a stadium like Azteca in Mexico City, which opened in 1966, this involved major transformations costing tens of millions of dollars. The BBVA stadium in Monterrey and the Akron stadium in Guadalajara, having been built in the last 15 years, were conceived under more modern parameters and already met some requirements.

According to Rebeca Ortiz, business development leader of the GBCI in Mexico, which handles LEED certifications, “the aim is for sports venues, which are platforms of global visibility, to have a more positive impact on the communities where they are located.”

LEED certifications also involve the evaluation of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the buildings. “We have a team of specialized technicians who verify that everything a project says about its process is true,” explains Ortiz.

The main emphasis is on operational performance, where a building’s most significant environmental impacts are generated. GBCI measures energy consumption, water use, air quality, waste management, access to public transportation, indoor environmental quality, and even the thermal comfort of attendees.

LEED provides four levels of certification. The first is simply called "certified," followed by silver, gold, and platinum. These are assigned according to the sustainability score a venue obtains. The higher the environmental and operational performance, the higher the level of certification.

Stadiums must have at least a silver certification to host a match during the 2026 World Cup. Some stadiums, such as the BBVA and the Akron, have been certified in design and construction since they were built. The former also obtained gold LEED status for operation and maintenance in 2024. The one in Guadalajara is in the process of trying to attain that certification.

“The decision to become certified was made in 2022 in the context of preparations for the 2026 World Cup,” explains Alberto Salvador Molina, dir