The extreme hot weather at this year’s Club World Cup have raised a big concerns over the afternoon kickoff times at the 2026 World Cup. As much as the expansion of the tournament poses logistical challenges for the organisers, so also the scorching temperature observed on the ongoing club world cup.
A heatwave across the United States saw Borussia Dortmund players face South Korea’s Ulsan in Cincinnati on Wednesday, with temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2°C) with the kickoff at 3 p.m. local time.
The players took advantage of the FIFA’s rule “once-per-half cooling breaks” at this week games .In the other hand, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told reporters it was “impossible” to organise regular training sessions in the afternoons in sweltering Philadelphia with this present condition of weather.
The conditions should “serve as a wake-up call”, Global players’ union FIFPRO said.
As the climate is changing, iis making the weather conditions to become extremely hot with dangerous heat. This is an increasingly urgent issue for everyone in the football industry. The risk poses danger to afternoon kick off times and should be looked into.
“The risk posed by kickoffs in very high temperatures is real and growing,” said Global players’ union FIFPRO
FIFPRO pleaded with the global soccer bodies to re-examine and evaluate the kickoff times to address the heat conditions better, while applauding the organisers like FIFA for their flexibility in adding cooling breaks to games.
“We believe there is still a lot more that should be done to prioritise player health and safety,” said FIFPRO.
“Current protocols and laws of the game require urgent revision – this is a challenge the entire football industry must take on together.”
Match times for the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, have not been announced officially, hence organisers may still face same challenges if sweltering conditions return.
High temperature issues would not come as surprise to those who played in 1994 tournament, the last time the United States hosted the event.
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More than 90,000 spectators piled in to watch the final match in Pasadena, where temperatures rose up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8°C). It was the last time that a World Cup final was played entirely in the daylight.
Currently with the tournament expanding from 32 teams to 48 teams, afternoon kickoffs may be unavoidable to meet up with scheduling demands and to accommodate lucrative European broadcast markets.
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