Real Betis Raises Awareness of the Andalusian Coasts with the First Football Kit Made from Invasive Algae

The Real Betis Balompié football club and Forever Green – its environmental sustainability platform seeking to involve the fans in the fight against climate change – announced today a revolutionary new kit made from the invasive algae that are accumulating on Spanish shores. 

The kit forms part of an initiative under the slogan “Without Blue, There’s No Green”, developed by creative agency Officer & Gentleman, which aims to shed light on the environmental disaster caused by an invasion of the Asian algae Rugulopteryx Okamurae along Andalusia’s Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts – a phenomenon driven by climate change.

The massive influx of this invasive species is displacing native marine life and disrupting the natural balance of local aquatic ecosystems. A problem that’s particularly severe in the waters between Algeciras and Tarifa, where the amount of the algae that washes up on their shores has quadrupled in just one year.

To raise awareness for the gravity of the issue and alert football fans to the real environmental crisis we’re facing, Real Betis and Hummel have partnered with Parley for the Oceans and textile brand Pyratex. Together, they created this innovative, first-of-its-kind football kit from textiles derived from invasive algae, along with recycled ocean plastics. The kit, which features a design based on the actual Rugulopteryx Okamurae algae, will make its debut next Sunday, February 24th during the La Liga match against Real Sociedad.

Through this initiative, Real Betis, who have long held the title as the most sustainable club in Spain, once again reaffirms its commitment to the environment. To that end, the club will also involve scientists in the campaign to help explain the underlying causes of this ecological crisis and its devastating consequences for the planet.

The Campo de Gibraltar: The epicenter of this environmental crisis

The Andalusian coast, particularly the beaches of Tarifa, has been one of the areas most affected by this invasion, which first began ten years ago. There, a massive temporary landfill has already formed a 40,000-ton mountain of these algae, which are classified as urban solid waste. The transportation, management, and sustainable disposal of which has become financially unsustainable for the local government.

This invasion is not only an environmental disaster for the ecosystem in and around the Strait of Gibraltar but also a threat to the economic stability of the region. After all, by covering the seabed, the algae is endangering native species and severely impacting key industries such as fishing.

Presentation in Tarifa

The new kit was officially unveiled to the public on Thursday, February 6, in an event held aboard a boat in the waters off the Tarifa coast. During the presentation, a team of divers retrieved the kit from bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in an area covered with the invasive algae.

The event also featured marine biologists and representatives from the companies involved in the creation of the kit, who provided media outlets with detailed insights into the project.