The 2026 World Cup has been very entertaining so far.
However, there have been a few aspects of this World Cup that haven’t been so great.
Indeed, one of the main complaints around this World Cup are the incessant hydration breaks – coined by some to be commercial breaks.
Every single game has included two hydration breaks, regardless of the weather, and now, speaking to Fox Sports, Gianni Infantino has explained why there are hydration breaks in every match rather than just those played in extreme heat.
What is your honest opinion on the hydration breaks? 💧
Should it be judged on a game-by-game basis?
Why every game has hydration breaks
According to Infantino, every single game has hydration breaks in the name of fairness.
The FIFA president claims that it’s only fair for every match to have the same rhythm so that no unfair advantage is gained by certain teams being able to make certain tactical changes at these points.
Instead, Infantino believes the best course was for every game to have these breaks.
“I know there is a lot of talk around these hydration breaks and you know the truth of the matter is that last year we organized the FIFA Club World Cup here in the US, the first edition, and we did hydration breaks as it was foreseen at the time, only for those matches where it was particularly hot, right?” Infantino said.
“So around 60% of the games and we got a lot of complaints about fair play. How is it fair to stop the match in one game and in the other game just because it’s a little bit colder, you don’t stop?
“Where do you where do you draw the line?
“Why a coach has the possibility to maybe influence a little bit the team and the other one doesn’t just because it’s a little bit colder or a little bit hotter on the other side?
“So we decided well before the tournament and we communicated as well that every game should have hydration breaks. Why? So that every team has throughout the tournament exactly the same conditions.”
In a way, Infantino is correct.
Hydration breaks are tactical opportunities as much as they are opportunities to cool down and have a drink.
If certain teams get more chances to speak to their coaches, that is an advantage in some ways, and it can affect how you set up from one game to the next.
To avoid complaints, it probably is best to keep things uniform across the board, but, that said, it does take away from the sporting spectacle when you have to stop every 20 minutes or so for a drink.
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