CUP26

November 2021 - After weeks of feverish competition up and down the UK between 49 football clubs, Cambridge United earned a hard fought victory over eight other finalists to become the inaugural CUP26 champions, winning football’s biggest-ever climate tournament as the COP26 climate summit gets into full swing.

In a final full of fan action, Cambridge United proved too strong for the other finalists, including Arsenal, Fulham, Spurs and Aston Villa.

CUP26 was an eight week tournament that saw incredible support from thousands of fans, families and schools completing a series of climate actions to score goals for their team and protect the planet at the same time.

At the award ceremony on the fringes of COP26 in Glasgow, ex England player and Tottenham Hotspur legend Ledley King, together with Allegra Stratton, the Prime Ministers’ Spokesperson to COP26, awarded the winners trophy to Cambridge United representative Ash Dyer.

Cambridge United’s fans also won the Planet League Impact Award for having the greatest impact during CUP26. To celebrate their achievement, Planet League made a donation to Rainforest Trust UK to project an area of rainforest the size of 1,000 football pitches in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Cambridge United’s name.

Since the tournament’s launch in early September, more than 27,500 green goals were registered and verified, accounting for over 14,300 climate actions. This reduced carbon emissions by 113,000 kg and equates to planting 6,450 trees.