A group of leading academics and clinicians from around the world has issued a stark warning to FIFA, urging football’s governing body to immediately overhaul its approach to player health and safety in the face of extreme heat at the upcoming World Cup, according to SPORTbible.

With the tournament just weeks away, kicking off on June 11 with co-hosts Mexico facing South Africa, an open letter signed by 20 experts claims FIFA’s current protocols are “inadequate” and fail to reflect the increasing risks posed by climate change, SPORTbible reports. The World Cup, featuring 48 participating nations, is expected to see temperatures ranging between 30 and 40°C in the southern parts of the United States and northern Mexico, regions hosting several matches.

Outdated guidelines and rising risks

The experts contend that FIFA has not adequately conducted, assessed, or applied recent research into the impact of extreme heat on players. Furthermore, they highlight an apparent failure to update formal guidelines on heat stress, which were last issued in 2015. This stands in contrast to FIFA’s medical strategy from summer 2025, which states the organisation is “committed” to “protecting the health and safety of players, referees, fans, volunteers and staff” and will “proactively identify, assess and respond to emerging health issues, including climate change.”

The globally recognised standard for measuring heat in sports is the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT). Experts consider around 28°C WBGT as the point where heat stress becomes a significant concern for elite athletes, and a WBGT of 26°C and above represents a high-risk environment for competitive football. However, FIFA’s current general guidelines only mandate cooling breaks in both halves of a match (around the 30th and 75th minute) if the WBGT exceeds 32°C. The decision to suspend or cancel a match remains at the discretion of competition organisers.

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The open letter, published by New Weather, underscores the severity of this threshold:

“While we can expect from professional athletes higher resilience compared to the baseline population, the safety level of 32°C WBGT for activities involving running is impossible to justify. To give an indication of how extremely hot a WBGT of 32 degrees centigrade is: an air temperature of 45°C and relative humidity of 20% would yield a WBGT of 31.9°C (approximations: no direct sunlight, wind speed of 1m/s).”

Urgent calls for updated protocols

The group of experts has outlined several critical changes FIFA needs to implement to safeguard player well-being:

• Delaying or postponing matches should conditions exceed 28°C WBGT.

• Introducing longer cooling breaks, ideally around six minutes in duration.

• Establishing clearer, more robust protocols for managing heat.

• Improving player-cooling facilities at venues.

• Committing to regular updates of guidelines based on current scientific research.

As the World Cup approaches, the pressure mounts on FIFA to address these warnings and ensure the health and safety of all participants in what promises to be a challenging environment.

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Sources: www.sportbible.com

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