Sixth Weather Delay At Club World Cup Sparks Concerns Ahead Of US World Cup (image-instagram/chelseafc)

Just a year before the United States is set to host the mega FIFA World Cup, the country’s weather conditions appear increasingly unfavourable for the matches. Recent events have made that abundantly clear. Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca lashed out after a two-hour weather delay disrupted his team’s last 16 Club World Cup victory for the competition.

Being completely unhappy about what had occurred, Maresca furiously said during the press conference, “For me personally, it’s not football.” Chelsea defeated Benfica 4–1 to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. However, unlike a typical match, this one took four hours and 39 minutes to complete due to a two-hour delay caused by a storm warning.

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And this had been the sixth time a game was stopped at the 32-club tournament due to the risk of lightning.
“I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven or eight games, that means that probably this is not the right place to do this competition,” Maresca said.

“But six, seven games suspended? It’s not normal. In a World Cup, how many have they suspended? Probably zero. In a European (championship), how many games? Zero. There is some problem,” he added.
FIFA has not yet made any comment on the issue.

Chelsea had one goal and the opposite side nil when the players were asked to leave the pitch, and play only resumed almost two hours later. Maresca reflected with frustration that the game had gone very well for the first 85 minutes, but the two-hour interruption completely changed its course, disrupting the tempo and making it feel like an entirely different match.

The Club World Cup had been facing weather-related issues ever since its commencement. Storms have caused six games, all held in different cities, to be suspended. In addition to this, the European teams were seen struggling to handle the heat and pitch conditions on offer.

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Moreover, Chelsea had earlier raised concern over the heat the players had to endure during the training sessions. Though some of the best stadiums in the US and Canada have roofs, many do not. Atlanta is the only ground selected with such a covered roof in the Club World Cup, but further stadiums in Vancouver, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Toronto are covered for next summer’s World Cup.

As the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams, the events will likely happen next summer. The only solution is to move the event during the winter months; however, severe cold is also an issue in parts of the US and Canada.