Global players' union: Weather issues cloud Club World Cup

Players are contacting the international players' union to voice growing concern over matches played when maximum temperature allowances are exceeded during the Club World Cup, FIFPRO said Monday.

The global players' union argued intense heat should have resulted in the postponement of matches between Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid and between Chelsea-Esperance because gametime temperatures rose above the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) of 28 degrees. FIFA's guidelines mark 32 degrees as the recommended limit.

Dr. Vincent Gouttebarge, the medical director for the union, said the factor is readily prevalent in midday games during the summertime, and is a concern again this week and into the 2026 World Cup.

"Obviously we have a threshold where the game should be postponed and rescheduled," Gouttebarge said. "The answer is quite straightforward, of course. The threshold? It is a WBGT of 28 degrees. According to our position, these games should have been postponed to a better place in the day and, if not available (to be played later), then rescheduled."

PSG midfield Vitinha scored the second goal of the club's win in Pasadena, when temperatures at the Rose Bowl hit a sweltering 90 degrees (over 32 degrees Celsius).

"We felt really good, even in these kinds of conditions. It is really hot," Vitinha said post-match. "It is hard to play in these conditions, but it was even more difficult for Atletico, who didn't have the ball."

Thunderstorms and heavy rain have also impacted matches. Humidity and temperature combined for a "feels like" temperature over 100 last week in Nashville before an extended delay between Auckland City and Boca Juniors. Sprinklers on the field ran during one break in play to cool players on the pitch.

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said weather delays in Charlotte on Saturday, when the match with Benfica was paused for almost two hours, were a "joke."

"It's already seven, eight, nine games that they suspended. It's a joke, to be honest. It's not football. It's not for us. You cannot be inside," he said Saturday. "I can understand that for security reasons, you are to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven, eight games, that means it is probably not the right place to do this competition.

"Guys, please, don't misunderstand me. I said it's a fantastic competition. It's a Club World Cup. It's top. We are happy to be in the last eight. We are happy to win all these kind of things. But something happens, six, seven games suspended, probably the one that they decide, they need a reason, because it's not normal to suspend a game. In a World Cup, how many games are suspended? Zero, probably. In Europe, how many games? Zero."

--Field Level Media