Real Betis Balompié and professional football will demonstrate their commitment, once again, to tackling the climate crisis with the Forever Green match, the first LaLiga game for sustainability. 

The match between Real Betis and Athletic Club will be played on 13 March and aims to preserve the environment through different actions that will be carried out during the matchday.

Eighteen months after Betis launched Forever Green, its sustainability hub, the club will kick-start this initiative with a special focus on generating awareness among the general public and all sports fans.

For this match, Betis players will wear a sustainable kit, made out of 100% recycled polyester. And prior to the game, the club will unveil Forever Green sneakers, made with recycled and sustainable materials by people with disabilities.

Sustainable transport will be promoted for fans to travel to Benito Villamarín Stadium on the matchday. This has been facilitated through Betis’ partnership with Lime, with all spectators attending the game having access to a discount code to use this company’s electric bicycles to go to the Stadium. A discount will also be available for Acciona electric motorcycles and Voi scooters. 

Additionally, a member of Forever Green’s start-up community, Ciclogreen, will develop an app to encourage fans to commute in a sustainable way. Participants will enter a raffle to win the special kit and other Real Betis products, as well as meeting the first team players.

In this first LaLiga game for sustainability, players of both teams will use recycled material water bottles instead of the traditional ones.

The Benito Villamarín Stadium will also display messages in the stands’ staircases with tips on leading a more sustainable lifestyle and looking after the planet.  There will be a higher number of selective recycling containers inside the facilities and biodegradable bowls will be provided so the fans can dispose of their sunflower seed shells. This waste will later be transformed into fertilising compost.

Before the game, LaLiga, Real Betis and Athletic Club will plant a tree right next to the Fans Monument as a symbol of the promotion of reforestation, one of the Forever Green cornerstones. Indeed, fans who are purchasing tickets will be given the chance to donate €1 to a reforestation project.

The club will also measure its carbon footprint and the impact of the reduction measures currently being undertaken, compensating as much as possible and continuing to take steps towards carbon neutrality.

This is a match that aims to open a new path in football, leaving a lasting impression in the mind of all the fans participating and promoting environmental sustainability.

Learn more about the Forever Green platform through its website and Real Betis Foundation social media channels: Instagram and Twitter.