“England games at the World Cup can start at 1 am in the United Kingdom because of concern for heat.” This was a headline of the British newspaper The Times this week, in a concern.
The times of the World Cup matches, something being discussed by the organizers, are like a puzzle in this expanded World Cup, with 48 teams. How to combine the well-being of athletes and the desire for European televisions who want to show the main games at prime time?
FIFA depends on the money from the sale of TV broadcasting rights and receives millions for it, as well as other sports megaevent organizers. A match that starts at 8 pm in England will be ideal for TV audiences and pubs’ revenue. But because of the time zone, it would mean a kick-off at noon if it is in Los Angeles, for example.
No European selection has secured a vacancy yet, but with Europe’s qualifying rounds, England, France, Spain, Portugal have the classification sent. After the group draw on December 5, the scenario will begin to be clearer. But you can see in the calendar that 15 days in a row in the group stage with four or more games. Of the 16 stadiums that will be used in the World Cup, 11 have no coverage, including the final in New Jersey.
The Club World Cup this year left lessons for the 2026 World Cup, which will be at the same time, from June 11 to July 19. One of them, the impact of high temperatures on athletes and the fan experience.
A recent study by researchers at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, revealed that at 14 stadiums temperatures can reach dangerous health levels. FIFPro, a global organization that represents the interests of professional players, has asked FIFA to increase the game interval from 15 to 20 minutes and set two stops for moisturizing per match.
The debate on sports competitions during the summer comes from the time when there was no talk about global warming. The 1994 World Cup was one of the hottest in history, with average temperatures of 33 ° C. The final between Brazil and Italy began at 12:30 pm local time, under 40 ° C.
In addition to the heat, who brings certain headache to the organizers is the host of the tournament, Donald Trump. Friend of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Trump stole the spotlight at the Club World Cup awards ceremony as he took the stage with Chelsea players – the trophy would even be at the White House, and a replica at the English club headquarters.
Immigration policies and tariff fights with the rest of the world can hinder the trip of fans to the World Cup. Trump has already threatened to take the Seattle and San Francisco Cup “governed by left -wing lunatics who don’t know what they are doing.”
FIFA says this will not happen. “Football will survive regimes, governments, slogans, and they cause a headache from time to time (….) but that is the beauty of our game, it is bigger than any individual or country,” said Victor Montagliani, one of the entity’s vice presidents.
We will see if this also applies to the unpredictable Trump.
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