Mandatory Cooling Breaks at World Cup: UEFA and LFP Refuse to Follow FIFA

UEFA and the Ligue de football professionnel (LFP) will not adopt the systematic cooling breaks introduced by FIFA for the 2026 World Cup, according to reports published Tuesday. Both bodies believe that the provisions already set out by IFAB are more than sufficient.

Since the start of the World Cup, players have stopped for three minutes in the middle of each half, regardless of temperature, to rejoin their staff and hydrate. FIFA justified this measure by the high temperatures expected in stadiums across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Some observers also see it as an opportunity to increase advertising revenue.

This type of interruption is not new, however. IFAB, the body responsible for the laws of the game, officially generalized hydration breaks in 2014, leaving referees the discretion to grant them when climatic conditions warrant. This is precisely the flexible framework that UEFA and the LFP intend to maintain.

The European body reportedly never considered going further: according to reports, the question of a systematic break was simply never put on the internal agenda. The LFP shares the same position, believing that current rules already allow for managing extreme heat situations without imposing a scheduled stoppage at every match.

FIFA’s decision thus continues to stand as an exception among the major football bodies worldwide, fueling a debate that goes beyond the sole health question to touch on the balance between sporting spectacle, player health and commercial interests.