The girls leading climate action

Girls United tackling climate change through football

In Bacalar, Mexico, home to the Lagoon of Seven Colours, the threat of climate change is a daily reality.  

Extreme weather events have disrupted schooling, sports, and community life, disproportionately affecting girls in vulnerable communities. 

In June 2024, severe flooding forced schools in the region to close, affecting over 200,000 students while sports sports programmes in the area came to a standstill as pitches became unsafe and unusable. 

The field where local organisation Girls United held weekly football sessions was particularly hard hit. It flooded easily, lacked proper drainage, and failed to meet regulatory standards making it inaccessible. 

But amidst these challenges, young girls are proving to be powerful agents of change. 

In collaboration with Common Goal and adidas’ Move For The Planet initiative, Girls United set out to transform their pitch into more than just a ground for recreation. It would soon become a model for environmental and social change. 

Andrea Ruiz, the Mexico Manager at Girls United, highlights the power of the young people in her community in the face of an ongoing climate crisis.  

“Listen to young people. Invest in grassroots, community-based solutions,” said Andrea Ruiz, manager at Girls United Mexico. 

“This is a space for girls to grow as athletes and environmental leaders. Environmental justice is gender justice.” 

The new, climate-adapted pitch now features proper drainage, ecological drinking fountains, a composting system, and a sustainable barrier that integrates organic recycling directly on-site. 

Girls learn to separate waste and reduce single-use plastics with these initiatives designed to  not only to protect the environment but also to empower girls to become environmental leaders in their community. 

“Football becomes more than a game; it is a tool for empowerment,” Andrea explains. 

“It builds teamwork, discipline, and leadership which are all essential in changing our habits and way of life. 

“Promoting a deeper connection with the world we inhabit.” 

The pitch is “a living classroom where environmental concepts are experienced, not just explained.” 

Young people in Bacalar have developed a complex relationship with nature. While they have happy memories, they also witness firsthand the damage and loss climate change can cause.  

But through local action, change is already taking root.  

“That local action—like building a better pitch or recycling—can have ripple effects across a whole town. 

“Small changes add up, and youth can drive those changes. Environment and football have one thing in common: they don’t have barriers. 

“When we improve the tools we have, we achieve access to better practices in small places, we are planting a seed with deeper roots than we can see. 

“Environment and football have one thing in common: they don’t have barriers. When we improve the tools we have, we plant seeds with deeper roots than we can see.” 

Girls United envisions a future where nature and people thrive together, where girls have leadership roles and safe spaces to play, and where climate resilience is built from the ground up - both literally and socially. 

Andrea’s message to the girls leading this change is simple but powerful: 

“Keep playing. Keep leading. Football goes far beyond the pitch. You are powerful, and you are needed to protect your community and your planet.” 

Read more about the project here.