New film uncovers the harms caused by FC’s Barcelona polluting partner

In the latest win against fossil fuel sponsorship in sport, FC Barcelona finally acts to divest itself of its relationship with the high-polluting, socially divisive Canadian oil company Gran Tierra Energy.

The move follows an investigation which started 20 months ago in the Colombian department of Putumayo led by journalist Matt Rendell for The New Weather Institute and Cool Down.

Around the world, FC Barcelona’s charitable wing, the Fundació Barça or Barcelona Foundation, uses sport and its values as a tool to support vulnerable children and young people around the world. Sadly, it has undermined its good work by accepting sponsorship from high polluters.

The  Barcelona Foundation has been working in the Colombian departments of César and Putumayo since 2019, with the sponsorship of the Canadian oil company Gran Tierra Energy, which dominates the Putumayo town of Villagarzón, effectively making it a company town.

The New Weather Institute and Cool Down became aware of the relationship between the Foundation and the oil company in November 2024. We visited the area that same month and gathered interviews with many indigenous and community leaders, local mayoral candidates, and peasant farmers, all of whom described the horror of having to live under the shadow of Gran Tierra Energy. We were shown outdated oil infrastructure and extremely extensive crude oil pollution due to the oil giant’s negligence.

The Gran Tierra Energy website, and the corporate and sustainability documents published there make many eye-catching claims - all refuted by our interviews, supported by newsletter and newspaper clippings.

We also heard allegations of hasty work with poor equipment and too few personnel leading to serious injuries. Multiple witnesses told us of repeated oil pipeline explosions causing death and serious injury.

Gran Tierra Energy’s Sustainability Report says that it is committed to protecting local water sources, illustrating this claim with the words “Zero contamination confirmed at over 600 sampling points.”

This is grossly misleading. On three site visits, it was easy to find traces of leaked oil. It was everywhere we looked. We filmed and photographed them.  

Matt Rendell’s investigation culminated in the report “Barcelona, the oil business, and sportswashing allegations in the Amazon” on 27 May 2026 in The Athletic, the online sports magazine of The New York Times, and a documentary film called “Barçawash.” Both show the extent of Gran Tierra Energy’s extensive pollution in the Amazon rainforest of Colombia.

In “right to reply” exchanges, The Athletic asked the Barça Foundation whether due diligence had been carried out on Gran Tierra before partnering with the oil company. They gave no specific answer. They did however provide a statement which said: "[The] Barça Foundation[’s] commitment with the project with Putumayo's and César's communities ends on June 30, 2026,” and claimed that it reached this decision “one year ago, after achieving the goals initially planned.” 

We have found no public statement was made to that effect. Regarding the achievement of its goals in the area, one community leader told us, “There’s no development here” … “Legions of tankers leave here every day, but there is no money for anything good … nothing with any impact. And they say we are progressing.”

On 8 June 2026, while FC Barçelona’s relationship with Gran Tierra Energy was still active, yet another in a long line of Gran Tierra Energy crude oil spills took place, in exactly the area we visited. The end of the Barça Foundation/Gran Tierra Energy relationship deprives a high polluting oil company of some ideological support and image management, but it will not stop the pollution. 

“Encountering huge, stinking dumps of crude oil in the Colombian rainforest and seeing the petroleum sheen floating on creeks and puddles everywhere, was one of the most dispiriting experiences of my life. For irresponsible high polluters like Gran Tierra Energy, sponsorship deals with institutions in civil society like the Barça Foundation are the only means they have to present themselves as desirable members of the human community. I congratulate the Barça Foundation on the termination of their relationship, and I urge them to choose environmentally responsible partners in future.”

Matt Rendell, Journalist and Filmmaker

“The oil companies poisoning people should face justice, not get their name associated with one of the world’s greatest football clubs. The end of this partnership is a good day for football and for FC Barcelona fans. But it’s only a start. It’s time for football associations and clubs worldwide to break their links to big polluters and other sponsors linked to massive human rights violations.”

Frank Huisingh, director of Fossil Free Football

The New Weather Institute and Cool Down – the Sport for Climate Action Network invite FC Barcelona and its charitable Foundation to show climate leadership by signing the Cooldown Network’s Fossil Free declaration, rejecting future sponsorship with Fossil fuel companies  and advocating for change by calling out polluting sponsorship deals and supporting athletes who speak out against polluting sponsors.