In December 2022, Carbon Market Watch, a not-for-profit association, launched a complaint against the international governing body of association football, beach football, and futsal (FIFA) before the Belgian advertisement ethics panel. Similar claims have simultaneously been launched in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Carbon Market Watch alleges that FIFA's advertising of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as "carbon neutral" is misleading and false, and violates the rules of codes of the Belgian advertisement ethics panel. In particular, they argue that the "carbon neutral" nature of this World Cup has not been certified or validated by any independent body, that the methodology used by FIFA to measure its "carbon neutrality" was erroneous and resulted in a significant underestimation, and that FIFA also failed to meet its obligations in terms of offsetting to support its carbon neutrality communication.
The relevant authorities in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland announced that all five complaints would be examined jointly by the Swiss authorities.