29/12/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | DEC 29, 2025

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Too hot to handle? Searing heat looming over 2026 World Cup

W ITH less than six months to go before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, organisers are bracing for what could be their most chal lenging 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 US$5.5 billion (RM22b) SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which will host eight World cup matches, around 15 industrial misting fans more than 2m sit in storage, wait ing to be deployed. If temperatures climb above 26.7°C, the fans will be rolled out around the stadium. A roof suspended some 45m above the SoFi

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 spokes person 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 organis ing competitions on a warming planet. The union believes though that several World Cup fixtures remain “high-risk” and rec ommends postponements when WBGT read ings exceed 28°C. Among those fixtures causing FifPro con cern: group-stage matches scheduled for mid afternoon in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, as well as the final, set for a 3pm 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 Centre of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “When you’re cheering, you’re actually gen erating a lot of metabolic heat and your heart rate’s going up. Spectators obviously compared to professional athletes are generally not in as good physical health. “They have a lot of comorbidities that increase the likelihood that they would have a negative health outcome or succumb to heat stress.” Stadium temperatures are also amplified by the “urban heat island” effect of concrete, asphalt and metal. Adequate air circulation, plenty of shaded areas and access to hydration are crucial, Fuhrmann said – though hydration is often undermined by alcohol con sumption. Fifa has yet to clarify whether

fans will be allowed to bring refillable water bottles into venues or whether water will be sold inside. Fifa did not respond to requests for comment. For National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Schott, who has advised Fifa and its World Cup task force, the priority is prevention, particularly for foreign visitors unfamiliar with local climates. Another lesson from the CWC, he said, is the need for multilingual messaging to ensure heat safety warnings are clearly understood. “The lesson learned is just trying to maybe bet ter educate fans as they come to the United States to have a better understanding of what the weather could be like during those two months,” Schott said. – AFP

Stadium pitch offers some shade for spectators, while large openings along the sides of the sta dium allow for breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean to provide a form of natural air condi tioning. “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 consid ered to be among the highest-risk areas for a competition scheduled from June 11 to July 19, 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 cit ies: 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 35°C 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 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 min utes of all matches at the World Cup, regard less of conditions.

RESULTS & STANDINGS ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Arse nal 2 (Odegaard 14, Rutter 52-og) Brighton 1 (Gomez 64) , Brentford 4 (Schade 7, 51, 90+6, Petrovic 39-og) Bournemouth 1 (Semenyo 75) , Burn ley 0 Everton 0, Chelsea 1 (Joao Pedro 37) Aston Villa 2 (Watkins 63, 84) , Liverpool 2 (Gravenberch 41, Wirtz 42) Wolves 1 (Bueno 52) , Notting ham Forest 1 (Hutchinson 54) Manchester City 2 (Reijnders 48, Cherki 83) , West Ham 0 Fulham 1 (Jimenez 85) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 18 13 3 2 33 11 42 Man City 18 13 1 4 43 17 40 Aston Villa 18 12 3 3 29 19 39 Liverpool 18 10 2 6 30 26 32 Chelsea 18 8 5 5 30 19 29 Man Utd 18 8 5 5 32 28 29 Sunderland 17 7 6 4 19 17 27 Brentford 18 8 2 8 28 26 26 Palace 17 7 5 5 21 19 26 Fulham 18 8 2 8 25 26 26 Everton 18 7 4 7 18 20 25 Brighton 18 6 6 6 26 25 24 Newcastle 18 6 5 7 23 23 23 Tottenham 17 6 4 7 26 23 22 Bournemouth 18 5 7 6 27 33 22 Leeds 17 5 4 8 24 31 19 Nottm Forest 18 5 3 10 18 28 18 West Ham 18 3 4 1119 36 13 Burnley 18 3 3 1219 34 12 Wolves 18 0 2 1610 39 2 SERIE A: Parma 1 (Sorensen 48) Fior entina 0, Lecce 0 Como 3 (Paz 20, Ramon 66, Douvikas 75) , Torino 1 (Vlasic 27) Cagliari 2 (Prati 45, Kilicsoy 66) , Udinese 1 (Davis 90+5) Lazio 1 (Vecino 80) , Pisa 0 Juventus 2 (Kalulu 73, Yildiz 90+2) . PWDLF APts Inter Milan 15 11 0 4 34 14 33 AC Milan 15 9 5 1 24 13 32 Juventus 17 9 5 3 23 15 32 Napoli 15 10 1 4 22 13 31 Roma 16 10 0 6 17 10 30 Como 16 7 6 3 22 12 27 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS Group D: Benin 1 (Roche 28) Botswana 0, Senegal 1 (Mane 69) DR Congo 1 (Bakambu 61) . PWD L F A Pts Senegal 2 1 1 0 4 1 4 DR Congo 2 1 1 0 2 1 4 Benin 2 1 0 1 1 1 3 Botswana 2 0 0 2 0 4 0 Group C: Uganda 1 (Ikpeazu 80) Tanzania 1 (Msuva 59-pen) , Nigeria 3 (Osimhen 44, Ndidi 50, Lookman 67) Tunisia 2 (Talbi 74, Abdi 87-pen) PWD L F A Pts Nigeria (Q) 2 2 0 0 5 3 6 Tunisia 2 1 0 1 5 4 3 Tanzania 2 0 1 1 2 3 1 Uganda 2 0 1 1 2 4 1

304/25

28/12/2025

2630 0382 1740

3065 6468 1525 8591 8512

4835 1856 2853 7442 8812

9071 1067 9869 9996 9356

7550 7277 3497 6009 2387

RM19,383,650.52

2630 + 1740 0382 + 1740 1740 + 0382

2630 + 0382 0382 + 2630 1740 + 2630

The World Cup match schedule

RM232,667.27

Sofyan Amrabat of Morocco cools off by splashing water onto his face during a match in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. – AFPPIC

8 10121415252835

20 30

RM11,269,780.50

RM181,949.36

3 0 8 2 4 0 30824

08240

3082

8240

308

240

30

40

82

06

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