FIFA Promises Action Over Controversial Hydration Breaks Post

Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s head of global football development, has confirmed there will be a reflection on the introduction of hydration breaks after this summer’s World Cup.

Having previously been used only during dangerously high temperatures over the years, FIFA made hydration breaks mandatory during each half of every match this summer, even those held in climate-controlled stadiums.

As the tournament has progressed, fans in stadiums have been increasingly vocal against the practice, with many accusing FIFA of simply creating another window for broadcasters to show commercials. While plenty of broadcasters have gleefully taken the opportunity to cut to commercials—one even missed 10 seconds of action as a result—some have refused to pause their feeds.

“Sometimes people didn’t like it and we have to analyze after the World Cup what is the impact,” Wenger told FIFA’s Technical Study Group’s closing press conference. “Especially when the stadiums were covered, people were not happy with it.

“It didn’t look to me that it changed the results of the competitions. But we are here to serve people who watch football and we will come to the conclusions after the competition.

“In some games, it was really needed and because we want to make any difference between the way games are handled we decided at the start of the competition to do it. We will have a deep analysis after the competition. We have not come to a conclusion yet but I promise that you will get one.”

What Is the Problem With Hydration Breaks?

The concept of a hydration break, in isolation, had not been questioned before this summer.

Introduced in 2014 specifically for matches in high temperatures, most fans could see the need to protect players in potentially dangerous environments for sport. Plenty of games this summer would have met the previous threshold for hydration breaks.

Making the breaks mandatory in each half raised major concerns about FIFA’s true intentions. President Gianni Infantino publicly insisted it is all about providing an even playing field but that has not satisfied the supporters that see it as yet another attempt to extract money from this tournament.

Even on the field, questions have been asked over the impact of mandatory stoppages on matches, with several examples of the momentum changing drastically during games immediately after the hydration breaks.

“It breaks the match almost in four quarters,” England manager Thomas Tuchel reflected. “And I think it changes the characteristic of the match more than I thought.”

UEFA, the governing body in Europe, has already confirmed it will not enforce hydration breaks across either the Champions League or Euro 2028, reverting to the previous system of judging the conditions of every match and pausing only when deemed necessary.

FIFA will now consider a similar decision ahead of the 2030 World Cup, held across Morocco, Portugal and Spain but with celebratory matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

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