What to know
- FIFA introduced mandatory three-minute hydration breaks 22 minutes into each half of every World Cup match, regardless of weather conditions.
- Many fans have criticized the breaks, arguing they interrupt momentum and create additional opportunities for sponsors and advertisers.
- FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the stoppages are intended to address player fatigue and ensure consistent playing conditions throughout the tournament.
- Sports executive Sunny Pathak says players are entering the World Cup shortly after completing club seasons, making rest and recovery a significant concern.
- The breaks can alter the flow of matches, but they also give teams opportunities to make tactical adjustments and rethink strategy.
FIFA’s newly introduced hydration breaks are sparking backlash, with many saying they disrupt the flow of the game. Still, one sports expert says it’s about managing players’ fatigue and ensuring fairness.
Soccer is a game divided into two 45-minute halves, with a 15-minute break between. However, fans saw a significant change in how the game is divided in this World Cup, after FIFA introduced three-minute hydration breaks 22 minutes into each half.
The change was first announced last December by FIFA, which said the break is used to allow players to rehydrate and is in place regardless of weather conditions.
Fans criticize, boo hydration breaks
But after the games kicked off, many fans worldwide have been speaking out strongly against the newly introduced breaks, with some saying they disrupt the flow of the match and others accusing FIFA of using this opportunity to promote its sponsors.
“19 degrees C, raining and they just had a 3 minute interruption. Why do they still pretend it’s not for the ads,” one Redditor said.
“F**k the hydration break. Taking the momentum off the game for absolutely no reason,” an X user wrote.
“Hydration Break is an L for Football, and FIFA knows it but doesn’t care. It kills the momentum while wasting time in the process. The players are PROFESSIONALS for a reason. The world can tell that the organisers want to let in more ADs,” another X user said.
FIFA defends breaks
Following criticism, FIFA shared a statement by its president, Gianni Infantino, on Tuesday, in which he emphasized that the breaks aim to tackle player fatigue.
“The main reason is the heat, but we also have to understand that in a competition like the (FIFA) World Cup, played over 39 days, with teams potentially playing eight matches in those 39 days, having a moment to rest is extremely important,” he said.
In addition, Infantino said FIFA chose to introduce breaks for every match regardless of weather conditions to ensure equal conditions throughout the games, with all players having the chance to rest and make adjustments to their strategy.
The FIFA president also added that FIFA is not receiving any additional revenue for introducing the breaks, and called them a “sporting matter.”
“There is no additional revenue for FIFA, as all commercial agreements were signed well in advance. So, this is not a financial issue for us. For us, it is purely a sporting matter,” he said.
Expert says breaks support fatigue management
Sunny Pathak, President of NewPath Sports & Entertainment, says fans’ frustration is valid, especially when some games are taking place in locations where temperatures are mild or the stadium has air conditioning.
However, he says the breaks are a strategy used by FIFA and the teams to ensure players are safe from heat risks and to manage fatigue, especially as some athletes might still be recovering from other recent tournaments.
“The countries that are playing, their season just ended about a month before, so they’ve played an entire season with next to no rest, and then they come right into the stress of the World Cup,” Pathak explained.
“I think you have to factor in that the players and the agents and the teams are also sort of having this conversation behind the scenes about managing the players’ fatigue, which I think has been missed, and the general fan kind of gets lost in that.”
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Why are breaks happening even under air conditioning and mild weather?
Although some fans specifically criticized hydration breaks during mild temperatures, rainy conditions, and even air-conditioned stadiums, Pathak said FIFA’s motivation is to maintain consistency.
As FIFA officials pointed out when the breaks were first introduced, they are mandatory and not subject to change based on location or weather conditions.
The expert said that this is in place to create equal conditions for all players throughout the matches, ensuring all of them have a chance to rest and rehydrate, and even to rethink their game strategy.
“Whether you’re playing a knockout match in Newark or New Jersey or New York in the late weeks of June… [or] you’re playing a knockout match in Dallas, where it’s indoors and air conditioned, that affects the play of both teams,” he said.
Do the breaks disrupt the flow of the games?
Another common criticism of the extra breaks is that they disrupt the flow of matches, breaking player momentum and giving them a chance to adjust their strategy.
Pathak said early feedback from players reveals that the hydration breaks can be both an advantage and a disadvantage in the game.
On one hand, interrupting the match every 22 minutes can disturb the natural flow of the game and take away from players’ momentum and energy. On the other hand, these breaks can also be used by the teams as an opportunity to rethink their strategies and introduce tactical changes that can flip the direction of the match.
“Congo versus Portugal is a great example of using the hydration break to make tactical changes,” the expert explained. “Prior to the hydration break, Portugal had significant possession, and at one point had completed almost 70 passes. But after the hydration break, you saw the Congolese defenders pressure aggressively on the other side of the field, tactically readjust[ing].”
The Congo vs. Portugal match that took place on June 17 ended in a 1–1 draw, after Portugal opened the match with a goal at six minutes, and Congo was able to score right before half-time.
Is there a commercial motivation behind it?
With the games taking place in North America, a region that is not known for having a strong soccer fanbase, Pathak said the new breaks might also be an attempt by FIFA to bring the games closer to a structure already known by North American fans in other sports tournaments, including the NFL or NBA.
“For the longest time, [soccer] has simply just been a game of two 45s. This is clearly an evolution, designed around changing the game, maybe, to make it recognizable to North America with four quarters with the two stoppages,” he said.
Included in that is also the opportunity to include extra ads during these breaks. However, he says most companies sponsoring the event are buying larger advertising packages than just for the game duration.
“We have to understand that there is a significant amount of money that has been brought forward in this sponsored opportunity around Coca-Cola,” he shared.
“Companies that are advertising are buying more than just the traditional game inside the 90 minutes. Bell, as an advertiser, has sort of bought digital and out of home, and so those ranges will be between probably three to $4 million, all the way up to $10 million.”
The expert also points out that there are several limitations for advertisers buying ads solely during the hydration break period, and says broadcasters are required by FIFA to return to the game at least 30 seconds before the three-minute break ends.
