Soaring Heat, Empty Seats: Criticism Mounts Over FIFA's Expanded Club World Cup(image-X/clinicalkai)
FIFA’s latest grand tournament faced criticism even before it began. And things hadn’t changed much even after its commencement. One of the main challenges the players are facing at the moment is the soaring heat they have to endure in each match. The tournament is being held during the peak summer months when the temperatures in the host cities like Miami, Dallas, and Houston can soar above 35°C.
The pictures of the players amidst the game splashing their faces with water and drinking cold water to cool down have become increasingly frequent. The kickoffs are mostly scheduled at noon and 3 PM local time. During the PSG vs Atletico group match alone, the temperature was recorded at 31 degrees Celsius.
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The PSG coach himself had raised concern stating that the heat had an impact on the game as the rhythm of their play was a bit lower than usual. Apart from the players, the attendees too had voiced their complaints. According to a Daily Sabah report, attendees had to wait in long queues, there were limited shaded areas and moreover, there were restrictions on bringing in water. Some of the spectators had to leave at halftime fearing dehydration.
As per the current rule, it permits one mandatory break per half.
The weather conditions add to growing criticism of the expanded 32-team format. The schedule itself would cause burnout to the players. The players had to kick-start a new tournament after completing a long domestic and international season. And after the completion of this, they will have to return to their respective leagues giving them not much time to relax. And this would affect each players mental and physical health.
FIFPRO and England’s Professional Footballers’ Association have launched legal action in Brussels, alleging FIFA overstepped by creating an unsustainable four-week calendar that risks player burnout.
Moreover, in the expanded 32-format season, making history, for the first time a team scored double digits in a single game. And this wasn’t surprising at all to many as Bayern Munich scored 10 goals against Auckland City, a club made up of semi-pro players with full-time day jobs. And with the fixtures, it seems like this would become a regular scene in the coming days.
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When FIFA had disclosed that fans from more than 130 countries have booked tickets to attend the matches, so far only few fixtures managed to bring in the crowd to the stadiums. During the Chelsea match, less than one-third of the stadium was filled. The matches which followed recorded 43.7% , 37.4% and 56.1% of the arena’s maximum spectator capacity. Empty seats have become a common sight, except for a few matches. And these all setbacks seems to take centre stage when Infantino tries to navigate his ambitious plan.
