During the online seminar titled “Innovation in Sport and Sustainability”, hosted by ENGSO Youth – one of the Move4Nature partner organisations – and held within the framework of the Move4Nature and CHANGE projects, we explored the creation of the world’s first football shirt made from Cradle to Cradle Gold-certified materials, examined the sustainability of sport in the metaverse, and discussed the role of innovation and technology in advancing sustainable development through sport.

Three speakers took part in the seminar: two ENGSO Youth Young Delegates, Anton Klischewski and Ariadna Moya Guillén – both members of our Sustainable Development working group – were joined by Lucy Mills from Ready Sport Global, who also served as one of the digitalisation experts in ENGSO’s CHANGE project.

Anton presented the FC Internationale Berlin 1980 football shirt, which was designed with the principles of the circular economy in mind. This shirt is capable of either decomposing in a landfill or being fully recycled. Made exclusively from Cradle to Cradle Gold-certified materials, it contains no heavy metals, BPA or biocides – ensuring it is free from harmful chemicals.

Lucy focused on the role of innovation and technology in sport for sustainable development. With over 16 years of experience in the football industry across Europe and Africa, she has designed and led professional and grassroots women’s football and social impact programmes in more than 25 countries. During the seminar, she shared her insights into how technology and digitalisation can support sport organisations in enhancing their services, programmes and overall impact, while contributing to the sustainable development goals.

Ariadna concluded the seminar with a presentation on the metaverse, regarded as one of the emerging technologies of 2024. She shared findings from her master’s thesis, “Sustainability of Sports in the Metaverse: Exploring Next Steps on Digitalisation”, which addressed the economic, social and environmental challenges and opportunities related to the evolving presence of sport in virtual environments.