An air quality alert has been issued in New York and New Jersey ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
The 23rd World Cup final will see the European champions take on the South American champions at the New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium) at 3pm local time on Sunday.
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Ahead of the huge game, haze caused by Canadian wildfires has meant that officials in the area have urged residents to stay inside if possible.
Air quality in New Jersey ‘poor’ but rain expected to help clear it up
The stadium is in East Rutherford and, ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection released a statement.
It read: “Smoke from wildfires in Minnesota and Canada is affecting air quality across New Jersey today. New Jersey State Parks strongly encourages park visitors to limit outdoor activity, especially If you are in a sensitive group.
“Due to the poor air quality, New Jersey State Parks is reducing capacity of swimming areas to allow lifeguards and park staff more frequent breaks. New Jersey State Parks looks forward to welcoming visitors back to normal operations once air quality improves.”
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, meanwhile, said on Thursday: “UPDATE: As of 7 pm, air quality in the New York City Metro region has worsened to ‘Very Unhealthy.’”
According to BBC Sport, the World Cup final is not expected to be impacted. They add that the air quality in the area is expected to improve on Friday and the fact there is rain forecast on Saturday should theoretically help the situation.
Spain are said to have trained indoors after arriving in New Jersey on Wednesday, having beaten France in Dallas on Tuesday afternoon.
Argentina are believed to have stayed in Georgia following their semi-final win over England in Atlanta. The world champions are expected to start training in New Jersey on Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, the MLS match between Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps was postponed due to poor air quality in the area.
Star striker Robert Lewandowski was due to make his debut for The Fire following his transfer from FC Barcelona, but the game was pushed back until October 6.
Coaches and players from both the Spanish and Argentinian camps will hold press conferences ahead of the World Cup final on Sunday, when the topic of the air quality will no doubt be discussed.
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