Weather Shadow Over the World Cup: Matches Could Be Delayed for Hours

The world's biggest football tournament begins on June 11, but alongside expectations for the organisation, a serious concern is on the agenda. According to information conveyed by The Athletic, in the 48-team, 104-match 2026 FIFA World Cup to be jointly organised in the US, Canada and Mexico, the vast majority of matches are expected to be delayed or significantly extended due to weather conditions. The reason is two-layered: first, severe summer storms and lightning activity frequently experienced in the wide US geography in summer months, and second, temperature and humidity values rising well above 30 degrees especially in states like Texas, Florida and California.

The lightning safety protocol valid in the US is applied quite strictly. The moment lightning or electrical discharge is detected within an 8-mile radius of the stadium, the match is stopped immediately; players evacuate the field and retreat to locker rooms, fans are directed to safe areas. The waiting period starts from 30 minutes and if a new lightning strikes during this time, the clock is completely reset. So in an area with consecutive lightning activity, a match can remain interrupted for hours. This protocol was activated repeatedly at the FIFA Club World Cup played in the US in summer 2025; a 2-hour interruption was experienced in the Chelsea-Benfica round of 16 match, and there were serious delays in the Palmeiras-Al Ahly match. Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca and many players had made open criticisms about weather conditions.

On the hot weather front, the picture is concerning in another way. FIFPRO's (international footballers' union) medical director Vincent Gouttebarge advocates that matches should be postponed in conditions where the WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Temperature) scale exceeds 28 degrees. However, FIFA's official guideline sets this threshold at 32 degrees. This gap had led to debates that matches like PSG-Atletico Madrid and Chelsea-Esperance at the Club World Cup should not have been played according to FIFPRO but were nevertheless put on the field. According to Queen's University research, 14 of the 16 stadiums hosting the 2026 World Cup will exceed this critical 28-degree WBGT threshold at least occasionally; in hot summer scenarios, 9 stadiums carry the risk of exceeding this threshold more than half the time.

FIFA took some measures against these concerns. Mandatory 3-minute hydration breaks were introduced in each half, and a large portion of matches were shifted to evening hours. 50 of the 104 matches will start after 18:00 local time. Still, critics find these measures insufficient; scientists wrote an open letter to FIFA demanding that hydration breaks be increased to 6 minutes and that the intervention threshold be lowered. The most risky cities include Kansas City, Miami, Foxborough, Guadalajara, Philadelphia, East Rutherford and Inglewood. The final match will be played on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey at 15:00 local time; according to the region's last 30-year average, the temperature at that time is 28 degrees and the felt temperature reaches 32 degrees.

This balance between European broadcasters' commercial demands and local heat realities creates a classic Catch-22 for the organisation. Although matches shifted to evening hours are safer for player health, broadcast times in Europe exceed midnight; matches played at noon are favourable for broadcasting but dangerous for players. The last World Cup in the US's hosting history was 1994; in that tournament only 7 of 52 matches were played at night and there were no night matches in the elimination rounds. In 2026, the picture has completely reversed. Changing match times later is theoretically possible, but FIFA has never done this and has not given a clear commitment to do so. With 7 days to the tournament, uncertainty continues for players, fans and TV viewers.

Source: The Athletic

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