NWSL match finishes scoreless after 3.5-hour heat delay: ‘It was too hot to play'

New York Times

5 hours ago

The NWSL match between the Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri, was delayed for three and a half hours due to extreme heat, reigniting a debate over the feasibility of midafternoon kickoffs in professional soccer in the United States.
The weather delay became the focus of what was supposed to be a highly anticipated clash, with the top-seeded Current facing the defending NWSL Champions in what has become a classic rivalry between two of the best teams in the NWSL. The match ended with a scoreless draw, which was a first for the Current, who had never gone scoreless at CPKC Stadium.
Advertisement
The match was set to kick off at 3 p.m. local time, but instead began at 6:28 p.m., after temperatures were deemed too dangerous to play, per NWSL policy.
The fixture was initially delayed because of a five-minute runoff from the WNBA game between the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty, which was scheduled earlier on CBS. Then, word quickly began spreading from reporters in Kansas City that the match would be pushed even further due to the heat.
We are all at the mercy of this device…
93.5 degrees of the last reading.. next reading is at 3:47 p.m.
[image or embed]
— PJ Green (@bypjgreen.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Per NWSL policy, the wet globe temperature (WGBT) must not exceed 92.3 degrees Fahrenheit. WGBT measures heat stress in direct sunlight, accounting for factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud coverage. At kickoff, that metric was closer to 94 degrees at the stadium.
The match was delayed several times before temperatures fell below the appropriate threshold for the match to begin. Many questioned why the match had not been postponed sooner, considering a moderate heat advisory had already been issued for most of Missouri on Saturday.
'The league aims to play matches as scheduled whenever safely possible. While forecasts guide planning, we primarily rely on real-time, on-site weather data to make informed decisions in accordance with our inclement weather policies and protocols. Based on those inputs, the league made the decision to delay today's match,' a league spokesperson told The Athletic in a statement.
Players were warming up and preparing for kickoff when the first heat-related weather delay hit. Orlando head coach Seb Hines said in post-match availability he was 'disappointed' with how those three hours unfolded, describing confusion as the match was pushed back repeatedly.
'It was too hot to play, and we would have liked that decision to have been made earlier on, before warm-up, so they can probably prep a little bit better,' Hines said. 'It was a lot of waiting around: 'we're going to test the wet bulb', 'another 15 minutes,' and there's a lot of confusion and lack of communication as well, as to what the next steps were.'
He added, though, that he was 'pleased' the team eventually got on the pitch once conditions were deemed safe. By kickoff, he described the temperature as feeling 'cooler' than the scorching heat earlier in the afternoon.
'Overall, I was disappointed with the decision making prior to the six o'clock kickoff, but once we got there, I think that was (in) the best interest for the players and everyone here, and even the fans as well,' Hines said. 'It's brutal, three o'clock. Suns beaming. We have to have the best interest for everyone who's involved here at the stadium.'
Kansas City players Ellie Wheeler and Izzy Rodriguez described to reporters how their team managed to stay focused during the hours-long delay. They tried to relax, ate some food and watched 'pump up' videos, or replays of some of their best tackles, goals or moments as a team.
'Breaks like that can always break the rhythm of a team, but I think we do a really good job of staying united,' Wheeler said. 'We stay together. Try to stay off our phones as much (as we could). We're listening to music, staying pumped up, but ultimately, it is about our safety, and we know that, so we just made sure that (after) every 15-minute break we were ready to go.'
Advertisement
Rodriguez added, 'For us, it's just going to be (about), control what we can control. … They might make decisions differently in the future, but what we can control is being prepared for whatever time the game is going to be played.'
Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski said his team was ready for the impact of the extreme heat.
'It was a long day, and, to some degree, we knew that this is a possibility, and as a team, we did everything possible to stay focused already throughout the whole day,' he said. 'There's nothing we could do to change the weather, so we just focused on the things that we can control.'
Andonovski said protecting the health and safety of the players was everyone's priority.
'No matter what decision was made today, the first thing that everyone thought about was the health and the safety of the players,' he said. 'No matter what the game is, how important the game is, who the opponent is, the safety of the players comes first.'
The delay reignited the debate over midafternoon kickoffs in professional soccer in the heat of the U.S. summer.
In the NWSL, this is an ongoing issue. The most alarming incident came in 2017, when then-Houston Dash forward Rachel Daly collapsed at the end of a match against Seattle Reign. The England international, who now plays for Aston Villa in the Women's Super League, was later treated for heat exhaustion, prompting the league to announce it would immediately review the start times of matches. That specific fixture kicked off in Houston around 4 p.m. in late May, with temperatures reported around 92 degrees.
While the spotlight is on the NWSL this weekend, similar conversations were raised by players during the FIFA men's Club World Cup. Players, like Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, described feeling dizzy from playing in the heat. Several games were scheduled for midafternoon starts to accommodate broadcast audiences in Europe and Asia.
In the NWSL, there are similar concerns over viewers. While the logical solution would be to push for evening or nighttime kickoffs in the summer, the league must compromise with broadcasters who prefer scheduling matches at times that accommodate their audiences.
However, poor planning can make it a lose-lose for everyone. The weather delay in Kansas City this weekend resulted in the match not airing on CBS at all. Instead, it switched over to an online stream on the network's website and app. Instead, their broadcast featured an already-scheduled preseason friendly between the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets by the time the Current-Pride match finally began.
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle