British Sport 'Dangerously Under-Prepared' for Climate Change as Floods, Heat and Drought Hit Clubs, Report Warns

LONDON — British sport is "dangerously under-prepared" for climate change, according to a new report that warns floods, heatwaves and drought are already damaging stadiums, disrupting fixtures, pushing up costs and keeping people away from exercise — from Premier League grounds to village playing fields.

Illustration: Extreme heat is now the most common climate impact on British sport — 86% of surveyed organisations reported it in 2026.

The report, published on Wednesday, November 5, 2026, by the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS), surveyed more than 200 clubs, venues and governing bodies across the country. Every organisation surveyed said it had been affected by extreme weather in 2026, and 94% said British sport as a whole was under-prepared for climate change.

"Sport is already paying the price for climate change through damaged grounds, rising insurance costs, lost match-day income and lost opportunities for people to be active," BASIS founder Russell Seymour said in the report. "The game has changed. Extreme weather is no longer a series of isolated disruptions; it is a material, recurring and intensifying business risk."

Yet a separate review of professional club disclosures, cited in the report, found that only nine clubs had explicitly identified climate change or extreme weather as a business risk — a gap the report describes as stark, given the scale of the disruption already under way.

What Happened

BASIS, the body that advises British sport on sustainability, published its latest assessment of climate risk across the sector on November 5, 2026. The report draws on a survey of more than 200 clubs, venues and governing bodies, alongside an analysis of professional club disclosures and stadium flood exposure.

The survey results paint a picture of a sector built for weather conditions that no longer exist. Among the organisations surveyed, 86% reported being affected by extreme heat, 78% by drought, 31% by storm damage and 28% by flooding during 2026.

The financial risks are becoming increasingly apparent. BASIS said 27% of the professional soccer, rugby league and rugby union stadiums it analysed in England face a high direct flood risk — a figure projected to rise to 35% under future climate scenarios.

Several clubs have already felt the impact in their accounts. AFC Wimbledon reported nearly £900,000 (about $1.2 million) in stadium flood costs in its 2025 accounts. Manchester United has warned investors that extreme weather could damage property, disrupt match-day operations and cause losses that may not be fully covered by insurance. Worcestershire County Cricket Club's flood-prone New Road ground has repeatedly faced questions about its long-term viability, and Carlisle United have described flood insurance for Brunton Park as increasingly unaffordable.

"If a club with Manchester United's scale and resources considers this risk sufficiently material to disclose to investors, smaller and less financially resilient institutions cannot reasonably treat it as peripheral," the report said.

Illustration: Flooding has already cost clubs dearly — AFC Wimbledon reported nearly £900,000 in stadium flood costs in its 2025 accounts.

Background

Britain's long, hot and exceptionally dry summer of 2026 brought the problem into sharp focus. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) took the unprecedented step of postponing the start of the community rugby season in September because of rock-hard pitches and player welfare concerns — a decision that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.

The disruption to competition schedules has been building for years. Research cited by BASIS found at least 118 weather-related postponements across the top six tiers of English men's football between the 2021-22 and 2025-26 seasons, with lower-league and non-league clubs bearing the brunt. Cancelled or rearranged matches can mean lower attendances and reduced revenue for clubs operating on tight budgets.

The effects reach well beyond elite sport. Sport England found that nearly three-quarters of people affected by this year's unprecedented heatwaves participated in less sport and physical activity — a warning that climate change risks undermining public health as well as professional competition.

The report lands four days before the COP31 climate summit opens in Antalya, Türkiye, on November 9, where negotiators from more than 190 countries will debate climate finance and adaptation. While the summit will focus on global commitments, the BASIS findings underline that adaptation is already a domestic, practical problem — measured in flooded stands, cancelled fixtures and unaffordable insurance premiums.

British sport has not been entirely passive. Some clubs and governing bodies have invested in drainage, pitch technology and heat protocols, and the sector has produced sustainability guidance for venues. But the report argues that these efforts remain piecemeal, and that most organisations still treat extreme weather as an occasional operational headache rather than a strategic risk to be planned for.

Why It Matters

The stakes go beyond sport itself. In Britain, sport is one of the main ways millions of people stay active, and grassroots clubs are often the social heart of their communities. If heatwaves, floods and droughts make pitches unusable and facilities unaffordable to insure, the damage shows up not only in club accounts but in public health — fewer people exercising, fewer children playing, and more pressure on health services.

For professional clubs, the financial logic is becoming harder to ignore. A single flooded stadium can cost close to a million pounds, as AFC Wimbledon's accounts show, and insurance is getting more expensive or harder to obtain — Carlisle United's experience at Brunton Park is a warning for any club near a river. At the same time, postponed fixtures eat into match-day income, the lifeblood of lower-league clubs.

The disclosure gap matters, too. If only nine professional clubs have formally flagged climate risk to investors and stakeholders, the sector is, in the report's view, failing to price a risk it is already paying for. Manchester United's warning to investors shows that the biggest clubs are starting to treat extreme weather as a material business risk; the report argues the rest of the sector should follow.

There is also a fairness question. The clubs most exposed to flooding and extreme heat are often the smallest and least resourced — non-league football teams, community rugby clubs and county cricket grounds — while the costs of adaptation, from drainage to flood defences, are hardest for them to bear. Without targeted support, the report suggests, climate change could widen the gap between elite and grassroots sport.

Illustration: Grassroots sport is on the front line — the RFU postponed the start of the community rugby season in September 2026 over rock-hard pitches.

What Happens Next

The report calls for climate resilience to become a boardroom priority across British sport. Its recommendations include dedicated adaptation plans for clubs and venues, improved reporting of climate risk, and a £30 million annual fund to help protect grassroots facilities from increasingly volatile weather.

Whether that fund materialises will depend on government and sports bodies acting on the report's findings. Sport England, the RFU, the Football Association and other governing bodies will face questions about how quickly they can turn the report's warnings into practical support for clubs — particularly the smaller ones that cannot afford their own flood defences or pitch technology.

The coming months will also test whether the disclosure gap closes. With Manchester United already warning investors about extreme weather, other professional clubs may follow, and better reporting would give the sector a clearer picture of its exposure. BASIS argues that adaptation plans should be as routine as financial planning — not an afterthought when the next flood or heatwave arrives.

For now, the report's message is blunt: the weather that British sport was built for has changed, and the sector has not yet caught up. The next heatwave, flood or drought is not a question of if, but when — and, as the RFU's postponed rugby season showed, the consequences are already being felt on the pitch.

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FAQ

What did the BASIS report find about British sport and climate change?

The British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) surveyed more than 200 clubs, venues and governing bodies and found that every one had been affected by extreme weather in 2026, while 94% said British sport was under-prepared for climate change. Heat affected 86%, drought 78%, storm damage 31% and flooding 28% of those surveyed.

How many British stadiums face a high flood risk?

BASIS said 27% of the professional soccer, rugby league and rugby union stadiums it analysed in England face a high direct flood risk, a figure projected to rise to 35% under future climate scenarios.

Which clubs have already paid a price for extreme weather?

AFC Wimbledon reported nearly £900,000 (about $1.2 million) in stadium flood costs in its 2025 accounts. Manchester United has warned investors that extreme weather could damage property and disrupt match days, Worcestershire County Cricket Club's New Road ground faces long-term viability questions, and Carlisle United has said flood insurance for Brunton Park is increasingly unaffordable.

How has extreme weather disrupted fixtures?

Research cited by BASIS found at least 118 weather-related postponements across the top six tiers of English men's football between the 2021-22 and 2025-26 seasons. The Rugby Football Union also postponed the start of the community rugby season in September 2026 because of rock-hard pitches after a long, hot and dry summer.

What does the report recommend?

BASIS calls for climate resilience to become a boardroom priority, with dedicated adaptation plans, improved reporting of climate risk, and a £30 million annual fund to help protect grassroots facilities from increasingly volatile weather.

Sources

• Reuters, "British sport under-prepared for climate risks as costs rise, report says," November 5, 2026
• British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS), climate risk report, November 2026 (as reported by Reuters)
• Sport England, findings on heatwaves and physical activity, 2026 (as reported by Reuters)