TA: International Players Association urges FIFA to cancel the noon and afternoon kick-off plan in high temperature areas

FIFA was asked to abandon plans to kick off mid-day and afternoon kickoffs at three "extremely high-risk" venues to avoid high temperatures during next summer's World Cup. FIFPRO, which represents more than 70,000 professional players around the world, released a report pointing out that three cities, Kansas City, Miami and Monterrey, Mexico, had "extremely high risk" thermal stress damage when the game was held in the afternoon.

Atlanta, Dallas and Houston are also listed as high-risk cities, but the competition risk in these cities is expected to be reduced due to the use of retractable roofs and climate control technologies. Boston, Philadelphia and Guadalajara are listed as “very high risk”, while Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey are “high risk”. Only San Francisco and Vancouver are listed as "low risk".

The Club World Cup held in the United States this summer has been affected by weather conditions. FIFPRO said Chelsea's match against Tunisia Hope and Paris Saint-Germain's Atletico Madrid should not be played in the high temperatures in Los Angeles at noon.

FIFPRO has made suggestions to FIFA about kick-off time, but the union is concerned that "business interests", especially to meet the huge demands of television viewers in Europe and Asia, may affect certain decisions.

FIFPRO Secretary General Alex Phillips said that despite some of the recommendations adopted by FIFA, they still rejected their proposals in terms of kick-off time. FIFA will determine the World Cup schedule after the December final draw and will continue to discuss with FIFPRO, but the union said its influence is limited.

FIFPRO medical director Dr. Vincent Gutbach made an experimental suggestion to extend the halftime from 15 minutes to 20 minutes to help players rehydrate and cool down. He also suggested adding short and frequent game cooling pauses, believing that the three-minute pauses used in the Club World Cup (usually at 30 and 75 minutes) are not effective.