DFB-Elf: At the World Cup there is a threat of games at night for TV viewers

The Football World Cup is casting its shadow ahead. The tournament itself, however, is likely to be a heated battle in the blazing sun. Players and stadium visitors are threatened with sweaty hours in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The fans in Germany, on the other hand, have to be prepared for long nights, as some games probably don’t start until after midnight.

The experiences of the Club World Cup and the high temperatures are forcing FIFA to rethink the kick-off times of the XXL tournament. World Cup planning becomes a tightrope act for the world association: How can you best protect the health of the professionals and at the same time satisfy the rights holders and fans in front of the screens?

The final game plan will be created after the draw on December 5th. “Will every game be absolutely perfect in terms of kick-off time and television broadcast? I don’t know,” Fifa Vice President Victor Montagliani recently explained, thus preparing the various parties for possible disappointments.

For the first World Cup with 48 teams, a total of 104 games must be accommodated in the tournament schedule. Up to six games per day will take place during the group phase. For the European fans, sometimes in the middle of the night. Do the DFB team supporters have to set an alarm clock?

This scenario seems unlikely, at least in the preliminary round. The interests of the German rights holders have always been strongly taken into account. At the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Rudi Völler and Co. played the group games in the afternoon, when it was 9 or 10 p.m. in this country. In 2014 in Brazil, the DFB team’s preliminary round games started between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. German time.

It is more likely that the DFB fans will see night games in a possible knockout phase. Where the teams play their games from the round of 16 depends on their performance in the preliminary round and cannot therefore currently be calculated.

In any case, national coach Julians Nagelsmann could get used to late games. “As far as the conditions on site are concerned, it can make sense because it is simply incredibly warm and very humid in many regions and therefore extremely stressful for the players,” Nagelsmann said.

England’s national coach Thomas Tuchel also spoke out in favor of later kick-off times, but at the same time, with a wink, drew attention to the challenges for the fans and the associated consequences. “I understand that this will be bad for our fans, for the children, for the young people who go to school, very bad. I think there will be a lot of truants the next day,” said the 52-year-old.

The heat battle at the Club World Cup with temperatures of almost 40 degrees Celsius and high humidity provided an alarming foretaste. Some players warmed up in air-conditioned cabins. They also wanted to counteract the extreme conditions with drinking breaks and wet towels.

“My toenails hurt, I couldn’t brake or run,” said Atlético professional Marcos Llorente after a game against Paris Saint-Germain that took place at 12 p.m. in California. The Spaniard saw “a threat to the quality of play and the well-being of the players.”

PSG coach Luis Enrique found that games were clearly influenced by the temperature. “The timing is ideal for the European audience, but the teams are suffering because of it. It is impossible to play at a very high level for 90 minutes in this heat,” said Enrique.

Tolerable conditions can be expected, especially at the venues in Canada and in the northern regions of the USA. However, most venues are located further south, in a climate zone with a hot, humid, subtropical or even tropical climate. And not all World Cup stadiums are as equipped as the covered and indoor air-conditioned stadium in Atlanta.

The players’ union Fifpro is therefore sounding the alarm in a report. There is an “extreme risk” of heat-related health consequences at 6 of the 16 World Cup venues. Footballers and fans are at risk. Back in the summer, Fifpro called for the number of drinking breaks at the World Cup to be doubled and half-time breaks to be extended to 20 minutes.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino announced that he would increasingly use stadiums with roofs for early games. In addition to Atlanta, stadiums in Vancouver, Dallas and Los Angeles also have roofs. Other arenas at least offer covered stands, which provide partially shaded areas.