As the 2026 World Cup prepares to kick off across three North American nations, a group of climate and sports‑medicine experts has raised a stark warning: the tournament’s current heat‑management plan may fall short of safeguarding athletes and the thousands of workers, volunteers and spectators who will be exposed to sweltering conditions.
A Call for Change
The coalition, which includes faculty from UConn’s Korey Stringer Institute, proposes a concrete set of adjustments. They recommend lowering the Wet‑Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) threshold that triggers mandatory cooling breaks from 32 °C to 26 °C and extending each break to six minutes, giving players sufficient time to hydrate, apply cool towels and rest in shaded areas.
Under existing FIFA regulations, three‑minute cooling intervals are only activated at the 30‑minute and 75‑minute marks when WBGT reaches 32 °C. The proposed revision would make cooling breaks both more frequent and longer, directly addressing the physiological strain that soccer players often endure for extended periods without adequate rest.
Host cities such as Miami, Houston and Atlanta regularly experience summer temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit, compounded by high humidity that can dramatically increase heat stress. In these environments, the difference between a three‑minute pause and a six‑minute, lower‑temperature break could be the distinction between safe performance and heat‑related illness.
Beyond athlete welfare, the letter underscores the broader safety implications for everyone involved in the tournament. It calls for air‑conditioned locker rooms and spectator areas, noting that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar saw thousands of construction‑site fatalities linked to extreme heat, a tragedy the organizers hope to prevent from repeating.
The experts see the World Cup as a unique platform to champion global standards for heat safety in sport. By setting a higher benchmark for player protection, they argue, FIFA can influence training practices, labor conditions and public health policies worldwide, ensuring that the love of the game does not come at the cost of health.