Too hot to handle

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — With less than six months to go before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, organizers are bracing for what could be their most challenging opponent yet: Extreme heat.

Soaring temperatures across the United States, Mexico and Canada pose safety issues for players and fans and a host of logistical issues that remain far from settled.

In the depths of the $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which will host eight World cup matches, around 15 industrial misting fans more than two meters sit in storage, waiting to be deployed. If temperatures climb above 80F (26.7C), the fans will be rolled out around the stadium.

A roof suspended some 45 meters above the SoFi Stadium pitch offers some shade for spectators, while large openings along the sides of the stadium allow for breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean to provide a form of natural air conditioning.

“Knowing that you can put 70,000 people into a building, the energy, the excitement, the activity that comes with that, and the higher temperature, that’s where we want to make sure we respond,” Otto Benedict, vice president of operations for the company that manages the stadium, told AFP.

Not all of the World Cup’s 16 stadiums are as modern. And Southern California is not considered to be among the highest-risk areas for a competition scheduled from 11 June to 19 July, three and a half years after a winter World Cup in Qatar.

A study published in the International Journal of Biometeorology in January warned of “serious concern” for the health of players and match officials at the 2026 World Cup due to extreme heat.

The study identified six “high-risk” host cities: Monterrey, Miami, Kansas City, Boston, New York and Philadelphia.

The “Pitches in Peril” report by the Football for Future non-profit noted that in 2025 those cities each recorded at least one day above 35C on the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) scale, which factors in humidity and is considered the upper limit of human heat tolerance.

The issue of heat featured prominently at this year’s FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, which drew complaints from players and coaches.

Extreme heat also marked the 1994 World Cup, the last men’s edition held in the United States.

FIFA has responded by mandating cooling breaks in the 22nd and 67th minutes of all matches at the World Cup, regardless of conditions.

The World Cup match schedule released after December’s draw in Washington shows daytime games largely assigned to air-conditioned stadiums in Dallas, Houston and Atlanta, while higher-risk venues are set to host evening kickoffs.

“You can clearly see an effort to align the competition schedule planning and venue selection with the concerns around player health, but also player performance,” a spokesperson for the FIFPro players union told AFP. “This is a clear outcome, which we welcome, and a lesson learned from the Club World Cup.”

FIFPRO says the biggest takeaway is that heat will play an increasingly central role in organizing competitions on a warming planet.

The union believes though that several World Cup fixtures remain “high-risk” and recommends postponements when WBGT readings exceed 28C.

Among those fixtures causing FIFPro concern: group-stage matches scheduled for mid-afternoon in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, as well as the final, set for a 3 p.m. kickoff in New York.

While teams and players work to mitigate effects of the conditions, some officials say the risks to spectators both inside stadiums and in fan zones have been underestimated.

“There is a risk and importantly, we feel like it’s an underappreciated risk,” said Chris Fuhrmann, deputy director of the Southeast Regional Center of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.