Of all Fifa’s many World Cup crimes – the high ticket prices, the craven reaction to the banning of fans and referees from certain countries, or the needless expansion to 48 teams – it is hydration breaks which are the most heinous.
At first glance it seems like a reasonable enough rule. Formalising a water break to preserve player welfare? Fair enough, especially with temperatures set to hit 40 degrees in some places.
But as soon as you see it in practice the scales fall. They’re not about water, they’re about opening the floodgates to rampant capitalism. It’s no longer a game of two halves, it’s four quarters, and watching here in the US they’re not even trying to hide the fact.
Fox finds time to squeeze in an incredible six extra adverts during the water break (good news for Verizon, Modelo, Nerds sweets, Valvoline and jobs site Indeed during Sweden’s win over Tunisia).
It’s all about advertising during the drinks breaks (Photo: Getty)So desperate are they to get in on the act they even missed the re-start of the World Cup opener between Mexico and South Africa because one of them overran. The commentators on American coverage now openly refer to it as “the end of the first quarter”.
That’s bad but what’s worse is that it’s having a direct impact on matches. Mexico scored a decisive second goal just after the break in the opener but other games have changed course because of it, too.
Morocco’s momentum was checked by the first hydration break in New York and New Jersey, allowing Brazil – managed by wily Carlo Ancelotti – to rally his troops.
Germany recovered from Curacao’s shock equaliser just after drinks, while in two England friendlies they’ve nearly conceded just after hydration was called. Australia scored shortly after both breaks in their 2-0 shock win over Turkiye.
And these things are mandatory: so even when a roof is closed over one of the gargantuan NFL stadiums hosting games, the players still trudge over to the sidelines.
Rhythm matters in football. The old idiom “a game of two halves” took hold because it’s true – half-time can radically change the way a match is going. Managers get a chance to impart knowledge, players mentally reset. Suddenly we have four quarters and a game that has multiple opportunities for momentum to swing.
The breaks allow managers to speak to their players (Photo: Getty)This is a fundamental change that FIFA has ushered in and did they ask anyone? It wasn’t even put to a vote, never mind trialled for what impact it might have before they unleashed it on the biggest competition in the world.
Who is to say that the genie will ever be put back in the bottle at this level now? This is the summer World Cup so wherever it gets played it’s going to be hot. It was 37 degrees in Marrakesh on Sunday; 38 in Madrid. These hydration breaks aren’t going anywhere.
So far Uefa have been surprisingly feisty in their opposition to Fifa and we must hope they don’t follow suit. No matter how tempting it is to offer up to broadcaster space for more adverts, they must resist – or will face the consequences in 2028’s Euros.
Can you imagine the farce of players going to the side of the pitch to glug water on a rainy Glasgow afternoon? It will be the death of the game as we know it and must be opposed at all costs.
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