Overview
- FIFA now pauses every World Cup match twice for about three minutes, around the 22nd and 67th minutes, to allow players to rehydrate and recover.
- Reporters and footage show the breaks being used even in moderate conditions, which has frustrated supporters and lengthened match times.
- High-profile figures including Jürgen Klopp have criticized the routine pauses and questioned whether they are driven more by commercial gains than medical need.
- Broadcasters benefit from the interruptions because they create extra, sellable ad slots during a tournament that secured roughly $4.2 billion in TV rights.
- UEFA and France’s LFP say they will not adopt the FIFA schedule across their competitions and will reserve cooling breaks for matches that meet established temperature thresholds, noting the practice has existed in the rules since 2014 for extreme heat over 35°C.