AFF Suzuki Cup
Last year, due to the pandemic, the Asean Football Federation (AFF) council settled on Singapore being the sole host country for the biennial AFF Suzuki Cup. Although the National Stadium's capacity was reduced, it still saw some 10,000 people attending the opening ceremony. While this may seem a relatively small number compared to the stadium's seating capacity of 55,000, environmentalists may disagree.
A study done by Veres and colleagues in 2013 revealed the detrimental impacts of football matches, particularly in relation to the human emissions of VOC in the atmosphere. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are any compounds of carbon that undergo atmospheric photochemical reactions. These can include a myriad of chemicals, which impact health in both short-term and long-term manners (EPA, n.d.). Concentrations of VOC are also found to be generally higher indoors than outdoors as they are often present in household products such as cleaning agents and paint thinners. Measurements were conducted in Mainz, Germany, during a football match in the Coface Arena. There was a focus on human activities being the source of VOC emissions, such as cigarette smoking, respiration and ozonolysis of skin oils, where "multiphase reactions of ozone with human skin oils impact indoor air quality by depleting ozone and forming semi-volatile organic compounds, which can be respiratory and skin irritants" (Lakey et al., 2019:1). The authors concluded that as expected, VOC levels rose beyond the typical ambient levels, with a significant increase in the emissions of chemicals such as ethanol, acetone, decanal, etc. While the implications of these increased levels are not thoroughly discussed, it's safe to say that there are consequences on both the environment and on human health.
I feel that this study accurately accounts for the possible emissions during a Suzuki Cup match in Singapore due to the similarity in size of the stadiums and the spectators present. Measurements were done before and after a Bundesliga match which saw some 31,000 spectators, acting as an indicator for possible emission levels during such big events. The paper also provides new perspectives on VOC emissions, looking at outdoor rather than indoor environments, which are most commonly monitored. In sum, it reveals that human beings also inevitably contribute to negative atmospheric impacts, which are especially intensified during events with large gatherings.
References:
Lakey, P.S.J., Morrison, G.C., Won, Y. et al. (2019). The impact of clothing on ozone and squalene ozonolysis products in indoor environments. Communications Chemistry, 2 (56). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-019-0159-7
Lee, D. (2021, December 5). Football: Big welcome for AFF Suzuki Cup with 10,000 people at National Stadium. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/football-big-welcome-for-aff-suzuki-cup-with-10000-people-at-national-stadium
Veres, P. R., Faber, P., Drewnick, F., Lelieveld, J., & Williams, J. (2013). Anthropogenic sources of VOC in a football stadium: Assessing human emissions in the atmosphere. Atmospheric Environment, 77, 1052–1059. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2013.05.076
Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). What are volatile organic compounds (VOCs)? EPA. Retrieved January 21, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/what-are-volatile-organic-compounds-vocs#:%7E:text=Volatile%20organic%20compounds%20(VOCs)%20are,ten%20times%20higher)%20than%20outdoors.
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