{"id":43,"date":"2026-05-20T16:09:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=43"},"modified":"2026-05-20T16:09:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T16:09:50","slug":"world-cup-players-say-fifa-heat-policies-fall-short-amid-climate-crisis-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=43","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Players Say FIFA Heat Policies Fall Short Amid Climate Crisis Threat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Current and former World Cup soccer players have penned an open letter to FIFA, urging the sports governing body to address the heat stress that is expected to be felt by competitors during this summer\u2019s games in North America and to take action to tackle the global climate crisis.<\/p>\n

The 2026 World Cup will take place in three separate countries \u2014 Canada, the United States, and Mexico \u2014 across 39 days this year. The tournament will feature 100 matches involving 48 teams.<\/p>\n

A recent report from World Weather Attribution noted that \u201chazardous heat\u201d could diminish players\u2019 play, and has the potential to put their health at risk. A report from health professionals on the expected heat also suggests that the situation will cause impaired performance, and could lead to fatal health outcomes if not properly addressed. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to cooling breaks, it is clear that the 3-minute breaks that FIFA has adopted for all matches are too short to have a meaningful impact on rehydration and body cooling,\u201d , referencing the current model implemented by the international soccer organization.<\/p>\n

Citing those reports and their own personal experiences with heat exhaustion, dozens of current and former soccer players representing over 20 countries around the world called on FIFA to take the heat problem, created by the global climate crisis, more seriously.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe find it important that all players are protected from heat impacts, from the grassroots to the elite level,\u201d . \u201cAs the elite playing the World Cup sets the example for players around the world, it\u2019s essential that the best available medical expertise is put to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe share the concerns outlined by the medical professionals and support their demand that FIFA updates its heat-stress framework before the World Cup,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

doubling the cooling breaks from three minutes to six, and equipping locker rooms with more resources to provide \u201caggressive pre-game and half-time cooling,\u201d among other actions. <\/p>\n

In addition to updating their standards for protecting players and other personnel on the field, the players are also urging FIFA to take greater action to address the global climate crisis. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a missed opportunity if a sport so impacted by the climate crisis doesn\u2019t take its responsibility in addressing it,\u201d , calling for the organization to drop fossil fuel-related sponsors, and to \u201ctake serious climate action to reduce its climate impact\u201d \u2014 including creating a \u201csmaller, more regional football calendar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, this year\u2019s event will likely increase FIFA\u2019s carbon footprint in major ways. The number of teams involved has increased by 12 member countries compared to four years ago, meaning 12 additional teams \u2014 and fans of those teams \u2014 will be traveling across the world to take part. Choosing three separate countries to host the games will also increase the organization\u2019s carbon footprint.<\/p>\n

FIFA has a long history of greenwashing its own record when it comes to the climate crisis. In 2022, for example, FIFA President Gianni Infantino requested that fans share videos on how they would \u201craise FIFA\u2019s green card for the planet\u201d (e.g., how they would themselves do more for the environment), shifting the responsibility of addressing the climate crisis away from the sporting organization. FIFA suggested that this action somehow created a \u201ccarbon neutral\u201d World Cup for that year. <\/p>\n

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In addition to heat mitigation, players are demanding that FIFA take proactive steps to address the climate crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld Cup Players Say FIFA Heat Policies Fall Short Amid Climate Crisis Threat - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=43\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup Players Say FIFA Heat Policies Fall Short Amid Climate Crisis Threat - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In addition to heat mitigation, players are demanding that FIFA take proactive steps to address the climate crisis.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=43\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-20T16:09:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b25fb67784127dbf73af17ebd050f1d5.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=43#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=43\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"World Cup Players Say FIFA Heat Policies Fall Short Amid Climate Crisis Threat\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-20T16:09:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=43\"},\"wordCount\":616,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=43#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b25fb67784127dbf73af17ebd050f1d5.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=43#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=43\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=43\",\"name\":\"World Cup Players Say FIFA Heat Policies Fall Short Amid Climate Crisis Threat - 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