Climate Crisis in North America - How Could It Affect the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup?

The summer of 2023 and the year leading up to it has seen a large increase in calls for action on the increasing temperatures in sport. New rules have been put in place by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which have been used in many countries across FIFA’s members — these are often about stopping play during a half in order to allow players to drink and this includes when teams have an opportunity to take a drinks break as an injured player is being seen to.

This comes as a response to the increased temperatures at the beginning of a season in August and the end in May. However, many players at the highest levels of the sport will be involved in international duties over the summer, when temperatures hit their peaks. Last year’s Men’s FIFA World Cup was held in November and December of 2022, the first time that the competition has not been held during summertime. The 2015 decision proved to be a sensible one as host nation Qatar saw temperatures within a range between 26°C and 46°C in July 2022. During an average November day in Qatar during the World Cup, temperatures would rise to over 30°C, and they only dropped below 20 in December when the competition was drawing to a close.

Orange smoke could be seen across the skyline of New York as a result of wildfires in Canada.

Flickr 2023

The World Cup will be held across Mexico, Canada and the United States in 2026. The summer of 2023 has caused some concern both within the sporting world and also to all of North America. For example, a heatwave set record temperatures across the United States - with temperatures of 48°C in Phoenix, Arizona and 54°C in Death Valley, California, severe wildfires in Hawaii and record temperature streaks in Texas. Quite notably, Canadian fires led to smoke filling the skyline of New York - as well as the skies of World Cup 2026 host cities Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver. Additionally, the spread of smoke like this is an obvious danger to players’ safety because of the impact it would have on breathing. Over 200 people died as a result of the heat in Mexico this summer, and other Mexicans died while attempting to migrate to the United States.

Now, what did this actually mean for sport in the three nations themselves?

Firstly, tennis player Daniil Medvedev pointed out to the umpire during a US Open match against fellow Russian Andrey Rublev that “One of [them were] going to die.” When playing American Football in Kansas amid a 2023’s college pre-season, 19-year-old Myzelle Law suffered from the heat as his body temperature rose to 42.2°C (108°F). He was quickly moved to a hospital, where he stayed for a week before his death.

Furthermore, resulting poor air quality has also seemed to affect many athletes - particularly, as suggested above, in Canada following the wildfires.

What are the possible solutions to the timing of the 2026 World Cup?

Well, the World Cup can certainly be moved to a later time than its usual June-July summer period but perhaps that could face meteorological issues in autumn and winter, and also an oddly disrupted football season would surely not go down well with fans.

See, Qatar was manageable because they could host it in December. On the other hand, it can be very cold in the winter for players if playing in the North of America. For this reason, the football season spans between March and October there. However, you would always have to find the balance between that and the fans. In most places, a season will begin in August and end in the following May.

You could also argue, though, that the disrupted 2019/20 football season had a successful delayed ending, despite the lack of fans. For that matter, it may be most appropriate to reschedule the World Cup for an earlier date in March and April - but that would also have consequences on the 2026/27 football seasons almost everywhere in the world as they would wrap up in June or even the beginning of July, so the league seasons would probably not start at professional levels until September, apart from leagues which usually start between March and June. 

Ultimately, it seems that FIFA could move the World Cup to begin in May, ending in June in order to fit into the American footballing calendar as well as the 2022 World Cup fitted into the European one. Of course, this would mean disruption to the end of the season in many parts of the world. So, it now appears to be problematic for the calendar there. The football season gets tense, exciting and has lots of major events at this stage - particularly cup finals, such as the UEFA Champions League final.

This would mean that seasons starting in August would either have to start earlier by up to 2 weeks. Unfortunately for players, more matches would have to be played during the week - which, of course, clashes with European and local cup competitions. The only way to manage that is to push a few dates around where there are usually season breaks, or in periods such as Christmas, and if FIFA were to limit international breaks. This way, the season can finish in time for a May start at the 2026 World Cup.

What benefits does this conclusion have?

More midweek matches affects players’ fitness if they play 8-9 matches a month. This can be an advantage to other players who have an opportunity to get more game time. A change in the dates for professional matches does not necessarily mean rearrangements for local clubs, so it could promote watching local football instead on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon - showing support for local activities. Cleverly-scheduled matches, like those of the 2022 edition of the competition, could increase viewership and avoid clashes with local fixtures times - such as the Saturday 15:00 in Europe, or Tuesday/Wednesday at 20:00. This would benefit both broadcasters and football fans.

Take a short trip to a nearby ground to cheer on your local team.

Princes Park, Dartford

Credit to the Author.

Does this solve the problem for the future?

The simple answer has to be no. This is one work-around for one tournament. Authorities cannot keep working around the schedule, so if fans want to keep watching the same quality of football, it would be within their interest to help out and support causes for the planet’s conservation. But, in the meantime, the 2026 World Cup could be very dangerous for players’ health if played during the usual period of June and July, so this article concludes that the safest way to work around this for 2026 is to move the competition so that it starts at the beginning of May.