Latest news with #DrVincentGouttebarge
Sky News
20 hours ago
- Climate
- Sky News
Women's Euros: Concerns for player safety as tournament kicks off in Switzerland
The Women's Euros begin in Switzerland today - with extreme heat warnings in place. Security measures have had to be relaxed by UEFA for the opening matches so fans can bring in water bottles. Temperatures could be about 30C (86F) when the Swiss hosts open their campaign against Norway in Basel this evening. Players have already seen the impact of heatwaves this summer at the men's Club World Cup in the US. It is raising new concerns in the global players' union about whether the stars of the sport are being protected in hot and humid conditions. FIFPRO has asked FIFA to allow cooling breaks every 15 minutes rather than just in the 30th minute of each half. There's also a request for half-time to be extended from 15 to 20 minutes to help lower the core temperature of players. FIFPRO's medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, said: "There are some very challenging weather conditions that we anticipated a couple of weeks ago already, that was already communicated to FIFA. "And I think the past few weeks were confirmation of all worries that the heat conditions will play a negative role for the performance and the health of the players." Football has seemed focused on players and fans baking in the Middle East - but scorching summers in Europe and the US are becoming increasingly problematic for sport. While climate change is a factor, the issue is not new and at the 1994 World Cup, players were steaming as temperatures rose in the US. There is now more awareness of the need for mitigation measures among players and their international union. FIFPRO feels football officials weren't responsive when it asked for kick-off times to be moved from the fierce afternoon heat in the US for the first 32-team Club World Cup. FIFA has to balance the needs of fans and broadcasters with welfare, with no desire to load all the matches in the same evening time slots. Electric storms have also seen six games stopped, including a two-hour pause during a Chelsea game at the weekend. This is the dress rehearsal for the World Cup next summer, which is mostly in the US. The use of more indoor, air conditioned stadiums should help. There is no prospect of moving the World Cup to winter, as Qatar had to do in 2022. And looking further ahead to this time in 2030, there will be World Cup matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The temperatures this week have been hitting 40C (104F) in some host cities. 1:08 FIFA said in a statement to Sky News: "Heat conditions are a serious topic that affect football globally. "At the FCWC some significant and progressive measures are being taken to protect the players from the heat. For instance, cooling breaks were implemented in 31 out of 54 matches so far. "Discussions on how to deal with heat conditions need to take place collectively and FIFA stands ready to facilitate this dialogue, including through the Task Force on Player Welfare, and to receive constructive input from all stakeholders on how to further enhance heat management.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Climate
- The Sun
‘Extremely high risk' – World Cup faces major schedule revamp amid growing concern for player safety
FIFA have been urged to scrap "high risk" kick-off times at the World Cup next year. Soaring temperatures in several North American cities have led to adverse weather conditions and delays at the Club World Cup. 1 There is now growing concern for player safety with water breaks deemed insufficient by some experts. FifPro, a global players union that represents more than 70,000 pros, has called for changes to be made at the World Cup. They want midday and afternoon matches scrapped in 'extremely high risk' cities such as Miami, Monterrey and Kansas City. Boston, Philadelphia and Guadalajara have been deemed "very high risk" while Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey are "high risk". FifPro director of policy Alexander Bielefeld said the issues at the Club World Cup has to be a "wake up call" for Fifa, and calls have been made to move matches to a later kick-off time. FifPro's medical director Dr Vincent Gouttebarge outlined the potential health risks involved in playing in extreme heat. He said: 'From our research, a couple of cities and some matches on the ongoing Club World Cup can be labelled as having a higher risk for heat-related illness, or, in the worst case, extreme high risk for heat-related illness. 'There are certain areas in a country that will be more at risk. So think about match destinations such as Orlando or Miami, for example, where you can see over a period of years that there's a higher risk attached to these venues and destinations. 'The question is, if we look at match scheduling and match planning ahead of the tournament, if we actually need midday kick-off times in these locations or in these high-risk areas — if we should probably move towards late kick-off times as a preferences for these venues.' One expert, Professor Mike Tipton of Portsmouth University, a leading specialist on the effect of extreme temperature on the human body, has called for next year's World Cup final to be played at 9am.
Sky News
3 days ago
- Climate
- Sky News
Women's Euros: Extreme heat warnings in place as tournament kicks off
The Women's Euros begin in Switzerland today - with extreme heat warnings in place. Security measures have had to be relaxed by UEFA for the opening matches so fans can bring in water bottles. Temperatures could be about 30C (86F) when the Swiss hosts open their campaign against Norway in Basel this evening. Players have already seen the impact of heatwaves this summer at the men's Club World Cup in the US. It is raising new concerns in the global players' union about whether the stars of the sport are being protected in hot and humid conditions. FIFPRO has asked FIFA to allow cooling breaks every 15 minutes rather than just in the 30th minute of each half. There's also a request for half-time to be extended from 15 to 20 minutes to help lower the core temperature of players. FIFPRO's medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, said: "There are some very challenging weather conditions that we anticipated a couple of weeks ago already, that was already communicated to FIFA. "And I think the past few weeks were confirmation of all worries that the heat conditions will play a negative role for the performance and the health of the players." Football has seemed focused on players and fans baking in the Middle East - but scorching summers in Europe and the US are becoming increasingly problematic for sport. While climate change is a factor, the issue is not new and at the 1994 World Cup, players were steaming as temperatures rose in the US. There is now more awareness of the need for mitigation measures among players and their international union. FIFPRO feels football officials weren't responsive when it asked for kick-off times to be moved from the fierce afternoon heat in the US for the first 32-team Club World Cup. FIFA has to balance the needs of fans and broadcasters with welfare, with no desire to load all the matches in the same evening time slots. Electric storms have also seen six games stopped, including a two-hour pause during a Chelsea game at the weekend. This is the dress rehearsal for the World Cup next summer, which is mostly in the US. The use of more indoor, air conditioned stadiums should help. There is no prospect of moving the World Cup to winter, as Qatar had to do in 2022. And looking further ahead to this time in 2030, there will be World Cup matches in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The temperatures this week have been hitting 40C (104F) in some host cities. 1:08 FIFA said in a statement to Sky News: "Heat conditions are a serious topic that affect football globally. "At the FCWC some significant and progressive measures are being taken to protect the players from the heat. For instance, cooling breaks were implemented in 31 out of 54 matches so far. "Discussions on how to deal with heat conditions need to take place collectively and FIFA stands ready to facilitate this dialogue, including through the Task Force on Player Welfare, and to receive constructive input from all stakeholders on how to further enhance heat management. "In all of this, the protection of players must be at the centre."
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Fifpro calls for longer half-time breaks after extreme heat ‘wake-up call' at Club World Cup
Half-time breaks should be extended to 20 minutes in extreme heat, the global players' union has said. Fifpro is calling for extra measures to protect footballers after what it describes as the 'wake-up call' of the Club World Cup, which has been plagued by extreme temperatures over the past two weeks. Fifa protocols allow for a cooling break lasting for three minutes in each half if temperature thresholds are exceeded. According to Fifpro's medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, an extended half-time break would provide a necessary additional tool in helping to keep players' core temperatures within their normal range. '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.' Complaints from players and coaches at the Club World Cup over temperatures in the US that have breached 40C have been a theme of the tournament. Fifpro's general secretary, Alex Phillips, said the organisation had been engaging with Fifa over the issue during the past fortnight and that progress had been made. 'We are partially happy because Fifa have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,' he 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.' In the US, for example, they do not stage MLS games at midday in Florida and in Australia there are thresholds for the delay or postponement of matches. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Philips also warned that European football would have to get used to hot weather dictating that international tournaments are played in the winter. 'I think the evolution we've seen in recent years is basically the football is played 12 months of the year,' he said. 'So winter, summer, European winter, we're going 12 months a year, unfortunately.' Alexander Bielefeld, Fifpro's director of policy and strategic relations, said: 'I think the scheduling discussion is an important one for the years to come. And it might not just relate to, let's say, off-season breaks of the players but also to other issues that relate to player welfare or safe attendance by spectators, or the performance on the pitch.'
