FIFA urged to implement TWO major changes for World Cup 2026 after Club World Cup struggles

During the ongoing Club World Cup, players have been victims of extreme heat waves.

Due to worries about excessive heat, FIFA is being pushed to have a longer halftime break and two drink breaks rather than one at the 2026 World Cup next year.

According to the global players’ union, halftime breaks should be prolonged to 20 minutes during periods of high heat in next year’s competition.

Following what it refers to as the “wake-up call” of the Club World Cup, which has been marred by extremely high temperatures for the past two weeks, Fifpro is urging more precautions to be taken to safeguard football players.

If temperature criteria are surpassed, FIFA standards permit a three-minute cooling break every half. An extended halftime break would be a vital extra tool in assisting in maintaining players’ core body temperatures within their normal range, according to Dr. Vincent Gouttebarge, medical director of Fifpro.

The 2026 World Cup could see an increase in half-time and energy drinks breaks

“A cooling break generally lasts three minutes and they are designed to decrease the [player’s] temperature through the use of ice,” he said.

“But we are lacking the evidence in terms of what is the optimal duration for a cooling break. A half-time of 15 minutes might not be enough to decrease the core temperature.

So a lot of research is being done into alternative mitigation strategies and it could be that a half-time of 20 minutes is significant. It has been shown [to work] in the laboratory. Together with the national [players’] union in Portugal, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy in August.”

Extreme heat waves during the Club World Cup have raised concerns regarding players’ health

The theme of the Club World Cup has been players and coaches dealing with temperatures that have surpassed 40 degrees Celsius in the United States.

According to Alex Phillips, general secretary of Fifpro, the organisation has been interacting with Fifa on the matter for the previous two weeks, and advancements have been made.

“We are partially happy because Fifa have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” Phillips said. “So they have actually modified how they have been dealing with heat during the matches based on Fifpro’s input.”

“Obviously, it would have been better if that had happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted and they’ve put in place various different mitigation measures.

There’s additional water around the pitch, towels and so on, and the threshold for the cooling breaks has come down. So there has been a positive reaction from Fifa, which is good.”

“But going forward, it’s not just Fifa. It’s any competition organiser staging tournaments in this kind of heat. Their protocols [need to] reflect more of the good practice in Australia, US and other countries that deal with this week after week in their national leagues.”

Philips has additionally warned the European clubs that they will have to get used to hot weather, considering the international tournaments are played in the winter season.

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