FIFA is facing renewed scrutiny over the 2026 World Cup amid concerns that extreme heat could threaten player welfare and fan safety, following experiences at the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States.
During the Club World Cup, Borussia Dortmund coach, Niko Kovac, cautioned after his team’s opening game that the competition’s schedule was taking a toll on players.
“These athletes had to bring top performance, but again that’s the tournament mode and we will see the same next year during the World Cup.
“We have to consider the players. This is very hard for someone, and the players, they must play these games.
“But OK, this is the tournament, we need to play. It’s my suggestion that the kickoff time would be a little bit later. We played in Atlanta (at 9 p.m. ET) so the intensity is also much higher.
“As a spectator, you would like to see intensive, aggressive, up and down football, so when it’s too hot, then it’s difficult to play this kind of football”, Kovac observed.
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola said players struggled to maintain their rhythm in sweltering conditions, while England manager, Thomas Tuchel, described the situation as “suffering.”
He told Reuters, “Suffering is one of the headlines for this World Cup. We need to understand how to cool the players down, to drink. What our options are.”
Chelsea midfielder, Enzo Fernández, admitted he “got a bit dizzy” and labelled the conditions “very dangerous,” with his coach, Enzo Maresca, adding that training in Philadelphia was “almost impossible.”
Fernandez said, “Honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy. Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it’s very dangerous.”
Maresca echoed his thoughts, saying, “…training in the afternoons in Philadelphia was ‘impossible.’”
The global players’ union, FIFPRO, called the tournament “a wake-up call” and demanded extended halftimes and more cooling breaks. FIFA’s chief of global football, Arsène Wenger, admitted that “in some games, it was a problem.
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A report by The Inquirer, noted that Wenger, speaking after a FIFA Technical Study Group briefing in New York, said, “On the heat, it was, in some games, a problem. But we tried to combat it with water breaks [FIFA allows one per half], and as well by watering the pitches during breaks. I feel that we learned a lot during this time in the tournament, because certainly we’ll be moving to stadiums next year where we will play with roofs, with timing that is a little more sensitive to the heat.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino promised adjustments, including use of air-conditioned stadiums, three rest days for each team, and revised kickoff times.
According to The Guardian, “The heat is definitely an issue. It’s an issue around the world. But we have stadiums in America that are covered and one in Canada in Vancouver and we will definitely use these stadiums more during the day.”
Host cities have also begun adapting. Dallas and Houston will rely on retractable-roof stadiums with climate control, while Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium offers similar protection.
Miami, however, lacks a covered venue, raising questions about scheduling for afternoon matches.
Scientific research has reinforced these concerns.
A 2024 study published in Scientific Reports (Nature) by Lindner-Cendrowska and colleagues found that 10 of 16 host cities face “very high” heat stress risk, with Arlington, Houston, and Monterrey recording average Universal Thermal Climate Index values above 49.5 °C.
The study warned players could lose more than 1.5 kg of body weight per hour from dehydration.
A 2025 paper in the International Journal of Biometeorology by Mullan et al. added that 14 host cities regularly exceed Wet Bulb Globe Temperature thresholds of 28 °C, making afternoon kickoffs especially hazardous.
Fans and climate advocates have amplified these warnings on social media. Posts on X and Instagram during the Club World Cup criticised organisers for ignoring the risks, with hashtags like #TooHotToPlay trending during group matches in Texas.
With the World Cup less than a year away, FIFA faces pressure from players, coaches, unions, scientists, and fans to ensure safety by rescheduling matches and expanding the use of climate-controlled venues.
