{"id":109803,"date":"2026-05-20T13:33:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=109803"},"modified":"2026-05-20T13:54:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:54:46","slug":"fifa-should-hit-pause-on-afternoon-world-cup-matches-says-heat-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/05\/fifa-should-hit-pause-on-afternoon-world-cup-matches-says-heat-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA should hit pause on afternoon World Cup matches, says heat expert"},"content":{"rendered":"

If soccer\u2019s superstars seem sluggish during June and July\u2019s FIFA World Cup 2026, it might be because they\u2019re hitting the pitch at the wrong time of day.<\/span><\/p>\n

With 2026 expected to be one of the hottest years on record<\/u><\/a>, and experts raising concerns<\/u><\/a>\u00a0about player well-being, FIFA is instituting mandatory three-minute hydration breaks<\/u><\/a>\u00a0midway through each half of every game during the tournament \u2014 held in several cities across North America.<\/p>\n

While this is a welcome change, Brock University heat expert Toby M\u00fcndel says FIFA organizers need to go a step further in protecting players from heat stress.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Toby M\u00fcndel, Brock University Professor of Kinesiology and Canada Research Chair in Extreme Human Environments, is calling on FIFA organizers to consider shifting game times to enhance player safety.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Professor of Kinesiology and Canada Research Chair in Extreme Human Environments is part of an international research team that found matches taking place in the evening ensure the least detriment to athletes\u2019 health and optimal performance in hot environments.<\/p>\n

The team, headed by Samuel Wanner at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil, is among the first to examine the impacts of humidity, wind speed and solar radiation \u2014 which M\u00fcndel says generally line up best in the evening \u2014 on athletic performance.<\/p>\n

Relative humidity describes the amount of water vapour in the air compared to how much vapour can potentially exist at that particular temperature, while solar radiation refers to energy the sun emits through electromagnetic waves.<\/p>\n

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025<\/u><\/a>, which occurred at the same time of year as this year\u2019s tournament and at six of the host cities across the United States, provided the case study for the research.<\/p>\n

The team tested whether high relative humidity, solar radiation and air temperature impairs high-speed running and if players run longer distances at higher speeds in the evening compared to the afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that the World Cup matches are played in different cities with different weather and at different times of day, time of day has not been previously considered and so that was a novel factor we addressed,\u201d M\u00fcndel says.<\/p>\n

The team examined statistics on how fast and far players ran, air temperatures, game schedules and venues, environmental conditions and other data gathered from FIFA technical reports, mathematical modelling and media coverage.<\/p>\n

In their calculations, the researchers used a measurement known as the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT)<\/u><\/a>, which includes relative humidity, solar radiation and wind speed calculations in addition to air temperature. FIFA also uses the WBGT in its own calculations.<\/p>\n

The study\u2019s findings include:<\/p>\n