BENGALURU: Every goal scored by football club Bengaluru FC (BFC) might end up being a big win for the planet too. With an attempt to initiate a green change, players, along with club members, have pledged to plant a tree for every goal scored in the season. That’s not all. The football club has also decided to eliminate single-use plastic on the pitch by installing close-to 40 sipping bottles made of reusable plastic on the touchline and across the field for players. “This ensures the elimination of single-use plastic bottles,” says Kunaal Majgaonkar, the club’s media manager. Furthermore, the club has eliminated the use of plastic bags at their merchandise stalls and have resorted to paper bags instead.
Apart from being giants in the field, the club has embarked on doing their bit for the community through their social responsibility program ‘BFC Cares’. This season witnessed the launch of ‘For The Planet’, a green initiative taken by the football club in order to focus on the environmental aspects. “We as a club feel that there aren’t enough sports persons or clubs talking about factors that affect the environment. We wanted to use our reach as a club to highlight these issues and there is no better way than initiating change from out end,” adds Majgaonkar.
Fans too have taken on the onus of cleaning the stands post every home fixture, an initiative that started during their previous home match on October 21. “We call the fortress (stadium) our home and the idea is to leave it clean. We are not trying to change the world here but just putting our effort to clean up the stands after every fixture. Food and drinks are not permitted in the stands. The waste we do collect after is paper waste,” says Rakesh Haridas, volunteer.
The cleaning initiative has also been extended to the premises around the stadium. In order to ensure the accumulated waste is recycled, the club has partnered with Hasiru Dala, a waste management company that recycles and reuses the waste. “A day after the game, the representatives from Hasiru Dala will collect and segregate the waste to dispatch it for recycling. This ensures that zero waste is sent to a landfill,” says Majgaonkar.