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• Open letter signed by experts in health, sports performance and climate urges FIFA to address dangerous heat stress risk for players in the men’s 2026 World Cup. 

• FIFA’s current safe levels for player activity under extremely hot conditions are “impossible to justify”, say letter authors. 

• Extreme heat is made more likely by climate change due to burning oil, coal and gas; the letter authors say the “active promotion” of fossil fuels (through Aramco sponsorship) represents “a conflict of interest with the protection of player welfare”. 

A �������� expert on the effect of extreme temperature on the human body has signed an urging FIFA to address dangerous heat stress risk for players at the men’s 2026 World Cup.  

The letter - signed by experts in health, climate and sports performance - also requests an update to FIFA’s inadequate safety guidelines. Players will be competing in extreme heat, with temperatures and humidity expected to soar in the 16 cities across the US, Mexico and Canada that will host the tournament. 

Mike Tipton, Professor of human and applied physiology from the ��������’s Extreme Environments Laboratory and President of , said: "Competitive exercise in hot environments can lead to a range of problems from impaired performance and enforced alterations in game strategy, to the medical emergency of heat stroke.  

“Amongst the most important ways of minimising the chance of such hazards is to employ effective interventions, including complying with internationally recognised heat-related thresholds for the postponement or relocation of events. As it stands, and due in part to climate-change driven increases in environmental thermal stress, some of the venues for the 2026 World Cup are likely to exceed the recommended heat-related "high risk" threshold, especially during afternoon kick-offs" 

FIFA’s current heat safety guidelines are out of alignment with many others that apply to people engaged in strenuous activity in hot conditions. These include the occupational health standard recognized by the International Standards Organization, the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the US Department of Labour, the International Cycling Union (UCI), and FIFPRO, the professional footballers representative body.  

Although under special measures for this World Cup cooling breaks will happen regardless of temperature in games, under current general FIFA rules, players might normally be expected to play for 30 minutes at a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) temperature of 32°C, a measure that takes into account humidity, temperature, wind speed and solar radiation. As an “indication of how extremely hot” this is, the letter points out that an air temperature of 45°C and relative humidity of 20% would give a WGBT value of 31.9°C. 

Concerns have repeatedly been raised over the welfare of millions of fans as well as players and workers during the 2026 World Cup. In response, FIFA has introduced a Heat Illness Mitigation and Management Task Force and measures including match timings that avoid the hottest part of the day and 3-minute cooling breaks for players.  

The open letter says this is “too short to have a meaningful impact on rehydration and body cooling” and recommends 6-minute cooling breaks, heat-management protocols that prioritise prevention over response and sophisticated locker room cooling technology. The letter urges FIFA to adopt comprehensive  in line with those suggested by FIFPRO. The authors propose cooling breaks when the WBGT reaches over 26°C and the delay or postponement of matches when the WBGT goes above 28°C. 

Professor Hugh Montgomery OBE, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, University College London, Co-Chair, Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, and Chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change said: "Climate change threatens human health and survival, now. In this regard, the World Cup shines less bright, tarnished by its core funding coming from a major polluter and by the threat posed to players by the extreme temperatures to which they may now be exposed." 

Heatwaves are becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of climate change, which is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. The letter warns FIFA that its “active promotion” of fossil fuels, referring to a controversial sponsorship deal with Aramco, the world’s largest producer of oil, represents “a conflict of interest with the protection of player welfare”. 

The 2026 World Cup will be the most carbon polluting ever owing to its expansion to 48 teams and 16 cities in three countries, requiring a large increase in air travel by fans and players.  

Sports bodies around the world are reckoning with the impacts of climate change. In 2025, brutally hot conditions saw tennis star Novak Djokovic vomit on court in the Shanghai Masters tournament, with player Holger Rune asking “do you want a player to die on court?" after being treated for heat stress.