Extreme heat has become a major talking point during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, prompting Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez to raise concerns about how high temperatures could impact players at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With growing attention on the issue, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has now responded.
Set to lead Chelsea into the Club World Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain, Fernandez addressed the weather conditions in Friday’s press conference, emphasizing the physical toll on players: “Thank you for asking that question, because honestly, the heat is incredible. The other day I got a bit dizzy during a play and had to go down to the ground. Playing in this kind of temperature is very dangerous.”
He also stressed how the heat affects the quality of the matches. “Especially for the spectacle as well—for the people who come to enjoy the game at the stadium, and for those watching at home. The pace of the game isn’t the same; everything slows down a lot,” he concluded his response.
Infantino addresses heat concerns
With the 2026 World Cup set to be hosted across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, the conditions seen at the Club World Cup have sparked concerns about how extreme summer heat could affect the expanded 48-team tournament. Infantino addressed the topic directly during a media briefing in New York on Saturday.
“Every criticism we receive is a source for us to study and analyze what can do better. Of course the heat is an issue. Last year, at the Olympic Games in Paris, games during the day, in all sports, took place in very hot conditions,” Infantino told reporters at a media conference in New York on Saturday.
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He emphasized the role of cooling breaks and confirmed FIFA’s plans to prioritize venues with climate-control systems: “Cooling breaks are very important and we will see what we can do, but we have stadiums with roofs and we will definitely use these stadiums during the day next year.”
Venues in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Vancouver are equipped with roofs and air-conditioning, which FIFA plans to leverage to help mitigate the effects of summer heat. While Infantino reaffirmed that more matches would be staged in climate-controlled stadiums, the logistical challenge of hosting 48 teams still leaves open the question of whether all matches can be played under similar conditions.
