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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
2026 FIFA World Cup dress rehearsal exposes the big problem of extreme heat
Six weeks ago in Munich, Paris Saint-Germain overwhelmed one of Europe's top teams in the UEFA Champions League final, earning a trophy and recognition as the world's best club team. On Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., PSG handed that mantle to Chelsea, which routed the exhausted Parisians 3-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup final, PSG's worst loss in nearly two years. So ended the first expanded Club World Cup, a tournament manufactured mainly to monetize the sport while lengthening the season six weeks for some teams — both PSG and Chelsea were playing for the 65th time in 48 weeks — and further congesting an already crowded schedule for others. And though it attracted more than 2.4 million fans overall, more than a quarter of the games drew fewer than 17,000 people, four got less than 9,000 and the competition overall averaged about the same attendance as the top 25 summer friendlies played in the U.S. last summer. That's after FIFA, the event's organizer, drastically reduced ticket prices and, in some cases, let people in for free. So why did we play this tournament at all? Well, the best answer is the Club World Cup served as a dress rehearsal for the real World Cup, which will be played at the same time and in some of the same stadiums next year. And if what FIFA learned from the club tournament doesn't force it back to the drawing board to make some major changes for next summer — especially to kickoff times — it will be an education wasted. The biggest takeaway was the weather. It was way too hot (and humid and stormy and just generally yucky). Chelsea played three of its seven games in temperatures described by local weather authorities as 'extreme,' meaning people were told to avoid strenuous physical activity or, in some cases, to even avoid going outdoors. (Sunday's final kicked off in 81-degree temperatures and 69% humidity, conditions that necessitated two hydration breaks.) 'The heat is incredible,' Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez said in Spanish before the final. 'The other day I got a bit dizzy during a play. I had to lie down on the ground because I was dizzy. Playing in this temperature is very dangerous.' But it's not just the danger to players FIFA should worry about (although that, clearly, is paramount). The conditions also change the way the game must be played, making it far less attractive to viewers. 'The speed of the game is not the same. Everything becomes very slow,' Fernandez said. 'Let's hope that next year they change the schedule.' For the Club World Cup, many games started at midday or in the early afternoon so they could be broadcast in prime time in Europe and Africa. But the conditions on the field were often oppressive as a result. MetLife Stadium, where Sunday's final was played, will host eight World Cup matches, including the final, next summer. And while the kickoff times for that tournament won't be revealed until the World Cup draw in December, BBC Sport said it has learned FIFA plans to start many East Coast games at noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time. FIFA issued a statement earlier this month that suggested it is not taking the problem near seriously enough, touting the hydration breaks, in which matches are halted so players can get a drink, as 'significant and progressive measures ... being taken to protect the players from the heat.' FIFPRO, the union representing international soccer players, isn't being so dismissive. 'From a health and safety perspective, this [extreme heat] is something that must take priority over commercial interests with regards to the safety of the players,' Alexander Bielefeld, the union's director of policy and strategic relations, said on a conference call. 'Heat conditions are not happening in a vacuum. The debate on extreme heat is not happening in a vacuum. 'It's actually quite foreseeable.' According to FIFPRO, at least three games at the Club World Cup should have been suspended or postponed because of extreme weather. It was so hot during a group-play game in Cincinnati, in fact, Borussia Dortmund's bench players stayed in the locker room, watching the first half on TV. The last World Cup that played in the U.S., in 1994, remains the hottest in history, which is remarkable for a tournament that since been played in Africa and the Middle East. That year Mexico and Ireland faced off in Orlando, Fla., where midday temperatures hit 105 degrees. And it was 100 degrees on the field for the final, which kicked off at noon at the Rose Bowl. (Not surprisingly that game ended in a scoreless draw, as did the 1999 Women's World Cup final, played at the Rose Bowl under equally as oppressive conditions. Both games were decided in penalty kicks.) More severe weather is all but certain next year. 'What you're seeing right now is very typical,' Ben Schott, operations chief with the National Weather Service, told the Athletic. 'Next year we may be going through the same thing. That's not good since a half-dozen Club World Cup games were delayed or halted by weather this summer, including Chelsea's round-of-16 win over Benfica in Charlotte, N.C. That match was paused for two hours because of lightning. 'I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game,' Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said. 'But if you suspend seven, eight games, that means that probably is not the right place to do this competition.' FIFA had a chance to protect its most valuable property, the World Cup final, by scheduling it for one of the four roofed stadiums chosen to host games in the U.S. in 2026. Instead it will tempt fate — and the weather gods — by playing the final at open-air MetLife. If there were a silver lining to these storm clouds — I'm trying to be positive here — it's that coaches and players are now keenly aware of what awaits them next summer, giving them ample time to get ready. 'We're going to come prepared next year,' said Inter Milan's Marcus Thuram, a French international. 'There's a lot of players that are doing the Club World Cup that will be doing the World Cup with their countries next year. So I think it's a good preparation.' Let's hope FIFA is preparing as well. Because if the heat was on for the Club World Cup, it will be even warmer for the organizers of the real World Cup next summer. ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Chelsea's Club World Cup triumph a ‘statement', but what might be the cost?
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez lifting the Club World Cup trophy after the team's 3-0 final victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium on July 13. NEW YORK – For Chelsea, victory in the Club World Cup decider on July 13 completed a fine first season under Enzo Maresca, and also finally brought the curtain down on a marathon campaign that they must hope does not catch up with them down the line. The Cole Palmer-inspired 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was Chelsea's 64th game of a season which lasted 11 months. By any measure it was one of Chelsea's best-ever campaigns, with their Club World Cup triumph – placed on a par by Maresca to winning the Champions League – following victory in the Conference League and a fourth-placed finish in the English Premier League. Maresca, an ex-assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, could not have asked for much more after arriving off the back of leading Leicester City to promotion. 'It has been a fantastic season but I am especially happy for the players,' said the Italian, who has succeeded in putting together a coherent team out of the endless line of new signings being brought in by the club's owners. 'We have said many times that talent alone is not enough. You need to find a way for them to all fit together.' It all represents considerable progress from 2023, when the Stamford Bridge side finished in the bottom half of the Premier League. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years Maresca incorporated more new faces during the Club World Cup, with Joao Pedro making a remarkable impact – the Brazilian forward cut short a holiday to complete a £60 million (S$103.3 million) transfer from Brighton & Hove Albion, and went on to score twice in the semi-final against Fluminense and once in the final. Liam Delap, Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr and Andrey Santos all joined up ahead of the month in the United States, while Jamie Gittens has since arrived from Borussia Dortmund and fellow winger Estevao Willian now joins from Palmeiras in Brazil. Chelsea will hope those signings, added to a squad led by the likes of Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, can make a real push for the Premier League title off the back of their impressive triumph at Fifa's new tournament. 'It's a big statement,' captain Reece James told English media shortly after lifting the trophy alongside US President Donald Trump. 'I'm happy with how much the club has progressed and how next season you know we'll be competing in the Premier League, to win the title and compete, and to go far in the Champions League as well.' Chelsea have also pocketed a stunning US$115 million (S$147.4 million) in prize money from the Club World Cup, but what if there comes a point in 2025-26 when their exploits of this season catch up with them? While Chelsea have been competing at the Club World Cup in draining weather conditions, Premier League champions Liverpool and runners-up Arsenal have enjoyed extended off-season breaks. Manchester City were also at the Club World Cup but they went out over a week earlier. Global players' union Fifpro has been the leading voices expressing concerns about the demands on the game's biggest stars in an ever-expanding calendar. One of the safeguards it proposed in a study published before the tournament was a mandatory four-week off-season break, along with four-week retraining periods before returning to competition. Chelsea's off-season is drastically reduced, with their first match of the next Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace slated for Aug 17, exactly five weeks after the Club World Cup final. They have a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen on Aug 8. 'Tomorrow I have three weeks of holiday, which is all I want right now because I have not stopped in 15 months,' said Maresca on July 13. It remains to be seen if Maresca and his players come back sufficiently refreshed before attacking a season in which they hope to go far in the Champions League, and which will end with the World Cup in North America. PSG face an even tighter squeeze after a historic campaign for Luis Enrique's team, capped by their triumph in the Champions League final. Their first competitive match of next season will be the European Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur in Italy on Aug 13, exactly one month after their defeat in New Jersey – a chance to win more silverware, but at what cost? AFP
The National
a day ago
- Sport
- The National
Player welfare and empty seats: Fifa must learn lessons from Club World Cup ahead of 2026 World Cup
Fifa's new flagship Club World Cup came to a close on Sunday with English side Chelsea crowned champions of the 32-team competition. Never one to pass up the chance of hyperbole, Fifa president Gianni Infantino has already declared it "the most successful club competition in the world.' The financial windfall for the London club was staggering, earning just over $114 million for one month's work. The other participating clubs didn't fare too badly either, sharing the rest of the $1 billion pot, by far the biggest payout in Fifa's history. But the expanded Club World Cup was not without its problems. Seen as a dress rehearsal for next year's World Cup, to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico, empty seats marked the tournament. Slashed ticket prices, searing heat, unfavourable kick-off times, weather-delayed matches and player complaints over the standard of pitches are just a few of the areas Fifa must address before the 2026 global finals. Dangerously high temperatures and violent storms The temperature was over 32° Celsius for many matches played across the US, with humidity that made pitch-side conditions feel closer to 38°C. 'Honestly, the heat is incredible,' Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez said. 'Playing in this temperature is very dangerous.' Six games were delayed by weather for a total of 8 hours, 29 minutes, raising questions over the suitability of the US for next year's World Cup during a time of global warming. Only four of the 11 US World Cup venues have roofs, including one that isn't temperature controlled. At the 1994 World Cup in the US, just seven of 52 games had local nighttime starts to allow for matches to be broadcast during the evenings for European television. Violent storms also wreaked havoc across the tournament. US rules mean play is stopped when lightning is recorded within a 10-mile radius, and cannot restart until 30 minutes after it finishes. Two Benfica games, against Auckland and Chelsea, were delayed for about 120 minutes. There were only four minutes left when that Chelsea game was held up. The Blues were winning 1-0, but Benfica levelled before Chelsea won in extra time. "I think it's a joke, to be honest," Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said at the time. Possible solutions are planning around kick-off times to avoid playing in hot cities in the middle of the day, as so often happened at the Club World Cup, while seven of the venues used this summer won't be used in 2026. Player welfare For the top players, the Club World Cup meant they likely faced three consecutive years of summer tournaments, following the European Championship and Copa America last year and leading to the World Cup for national teams in 2026. The two finalists, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, played their 64th and 65th competitive games respectively since mid-August. Each team will have 33-35 days off before 2025/26 openers. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said the impact of the new tournament might not be known until midway through next season. 'I may say: 'So listen, we are a disaster. We are exhausted. The [Club] World Cup destroyed us,'' he admitted. Sergio Marchi, the president of world players' union FIFPro, accused Fifa of choosing to 'continue increasing its income at the expense of the players' bodies and health'. Marchi likened football's governing body's approach to the 'bread and circuses' tactics used by Emperor Nero in ancient Rome and warned there could be no repeat of playing matches in such extreme heat at next summer's World Cup. Other coaches expressed their concerns over player welfare. Juventus coach Igor Tudor said that 10 of his players asked to be substituted during their last-16 defeat to Real Madrid at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. "The exhaustion was incredible," Tudor said after the match. "There's the tension of this match, which burns your energy. Then there's this heat, which really gets to you, and the third thing that completes the conditions is playing in this humidity." Borussia Dortmund subs watched the first half of one game from the changing room to avoid the sun - and manager Niko Kovac said he was "sweating like I've just come out of a sauna" during his side's group win over Mamelodi Sundowns in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifa guidelines currently rely on the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure of heat stress combining temperature and humidity. If the WBGT exceeds 32°C, cooling breaks are mandatory in both halves of a match. FIFpro has said breaks should be introduced once the WBGT goes above 28°C, and matches should be delayed if it exceeds 32°C. Empty stadiums Among the lasting lessons was Fifa's decision to dramatically drop ticket costs as some kick-off times approached, which could impact decisions by fans thinking of attending next year's World Cup. Fifa lowered the cost to attend the Chelsea-Fluminense semi-final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, to $13.40 from $473.90. Ticket for Sunday's final between Chelsea and European champions Paris Saint-Germain dropped from $330 to $199.60. Four matches failed to get more than 10,000 fans, with the lowest attendance the 3,412 who watched Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan HD 1-0. There will be 104 matches at next year's expanded 48-team World Cup and many are likely to be on weekday afternoons. Fifa has not said whether it will use dynamic pricing at that tournament and has declined to comment on discounting. The 63 matches at the 2025 Club World Cup attracted crowds of around 2.49 million, about 62% of the listed capacity. Fifa has refused to comment on the estimated 1.5 million unfilled seats. One reason given for low attendances have been the kick-off times, with many being at noon or 3pm on a weekday afternoon. Tiny US television audience Empty seats at the stadiums was only half the problem Fifa must address ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Streaming service DAZN bought world rights for the Club World Cup, sublicensed 24 of the 63 matches to TNT Sports, which averaged 418,000 viewers for the first 23 matches with English-language commentary on TNT, TBS and truTV. Seventeen matches sublicensed to TelevisaUnivision with Spanish commentary averaged 551,000. By comparison, NBC's networks averaged 510,000 viewers per match window for the English Premier League in 2024/25, regular-season Major League Baseball is averaging 1.841 million this year on Fox and 1.74 million on the cable network ESPN. The NFL averaged 17.5 million during the 2024 regular season. DAZN has not yet released figures but says it will during the week.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Wolves line up £15m move for Colombia star hailed by Enzo Fernandez as 'one of the best players in the Club World Cup'
Wolves are close to agreement on a £15million deal for Fluminense winger Jhon Arias. The 27-year-old Colombia international has enjoyed an impressive campaign at Fluminense with 13 assists. He also helped the Brazilian side reach the Club World Cup semi-finals before being knocked out by Chelsea. Arias was singled out for praise from Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez in particular who said: 'I asked Jhon Arias for his shirt because I know he was one of the best players in the Club World Cup.' Arias played six times at the Club World Cup. Since joining Fluminense from Colombian side Santa Fe in 2021, Arias has scored 47 goals in 229 appearances for the Brazilian outfit. Arias was labeled 'one of the best players at the Club World Cup' after playing against Chelsea He made his international debut for Colombia in 2022, earning 31 caps and scoring three goals so far for his country. Meanwhile, Wolves are saying midfielder Andre is not for sale despite interest from Juventus. The 23-year-old, another former Fluminense man, has attracted attention after a strong season in the Wolves midfield. Yet despite the interest, Wolves are understood to have no willingness to entertain offers for their impressive Brazilian. He made 36 appearances for the Molineux side during the 2024/25 campaign, his first at the club.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Club World Cup 2023 highlights key lessons for 2026 World Cup
THE 2023 Club World Cup concluded with valuable insights for FIFA as the tournament served as a trial run for the upcoming 2026 World Cup. Chelsea emerged victorious, but the event spotlighted critical issues like extreme heat and pitch conditions that organisers must address before the expanded 48-team tournament next year. The expanded 32-team Club World Cup format mirrored the 2026 World Cup structure, offering a preview of the logistical challenges ahead. Alan Rothenberg, former U.S. Soccer president, called it a 'dry run for FIFA,' acknowledging early mistakes but emphasising the learning curve for hosting across multiple cities. Player welfare became a major concern, with temperatures exceeding 85°F (29°C) during matches. FIFPRO, the global players' union, urged organisers to adjust scheduling, while Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez labelled the conditions 'very dangerous.' FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledged the heat issue, confirming cooling breaks and improved pitch watering protocols for future events. Stadium conditions also drew criticism, with uneven grass quality despite efforts like overnight Bermuda grass transport. Blair Christensen, pitch venue manager, assured improvements ahead of 2026. Meanwhile, FIFA has secured climate-controlled stadiums in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Vancouver to mitigate heat concerns. FIFA's increased operational control for 2026 includes a 485,000 sq ft broadcast centre in Dallas, building on the smaller setup used at MetLife Stadium. Oscar Sanchez, head of host broadcast production, emphasised the event's scale, calling 2026 'humongous.' The final at MetLife Stadium, a 2026 World Cup venue, tested pitch optimisation strategies. Despite challenges, organisers remain confident in applying lessons learned. 'We'll take these learnings forward,' said Christensen. - Reuters
