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CTV News
43 minutes ago
- CTV News
How climate change could force FIFA to rethink the World Cup calendar
Al Ain's Park Yong-woo splashes his face to cool off during the Club World Cup Group G soccer match between Wydad AC and Al Ain FC in Washington, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File) GENEVA — Soccer had a fierce reckoning with heat at the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States — a sweltering preview of what players and fans may face when the U.S. co-hosts the World Cup with Mexico and Canada next summer. With temperatures rising worldwide, scientists warn that staging the World Cup and other soccer tournaments in the Northern Hemisphere summer is getting increasingly dangerous for both players and spectators. Some suggest that FIFA may have to consider adjusting the soccer calendar to reduce the risk of heat-related illnesses. 'The deeper we go in the decade, the greater the risk without considering more dramatic measures, such as playing in the winter months and/or cooler latitudes,' said Prof. Piers Forster, director of the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures in Leeds, England. 'I'm getting increasingly worried that we are only one heatwave away from a sporting tragedy and I would like to see governing bodies lean into the climate and health science.' Tournament soccer in June and July is a tradition going back to the first World Cup in 1930. Since then, the three-month period of June, July and August globally has warmed by 1.05 degrees Celsius (1.89 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Meanwhile, European summer temperatures have increased by 1.81 degrees C. The rate of warming has accelerated since the 1990's. Climate scientists say that's a factor that needs to be considered when playing high-intensity outdoor sports like soccer. 'If you want to play football for 10 hours a day, they'll have to be the hours of the early morning and late evening,' climatologist Friederike Otto from Imperial College, London, told The Associated Press in an email, 'if you don't want to have players and fans die from heatstroke or get severely ill with heat exhaustion.' FIFA adapts Extreme heat and thunderstorms made an impact on FIFA's newly expanded tournament for club teams. The Club World Cup was held in 11 American cities from June 14 to July 13. FIFA adapted by tweaking its extreme heat protocol to include extra breaks in play, more field-side water, and cooling the team benches with air fans and more shade. Still, Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández said the heat made him dizzy and urged FIFA to avoid afternoon kickoffs at the World Cup next year. The global soccer players union, FIFPRO, has warned that six of the 16 World Cup cities next year are at 'extremely high risk' for heat stress. FIFA president Gianni Infantino addressed the heat concerns on Saturday, saying the handful of World Cup stadiums that are covered would be used for day-time games next year. Extreme heat could become an even bigger challenge at the following World Cup in 2030, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Games are scheduled to be played in afternoons and early evenings from mid-June to mid-July. All three countries have already seen temperatures rise above 40 degrees C (well above 100 Fahrenheit) this summer. FIFA downplayed the heat risk in its in-house evaluation of the 2030 World Cup bid, saying 'weather conditions are difficult to predict with the current development in global and local climate, but are unlikely to affect the health of players or other participants.' Heat exhaustion The physical effects of playing 90 minutes of soccer in direct sunshine during the hottest part of the day can be severe and potentially result in hyperthermia – abnormally high body temperatures. 'When players experience hyperthermia, they also experience an increase in cardiovascular strain,' said Julien Périard of the University of Canberra. 'If core temperature increases excessively, exertional heat illness can occur,' leading to muscle cramping, heat exhaustion, and even life-threatening heat stroke, he said. Many sports events held in the summer adjust their start times to early morning or late night to minimize the risk heat-related illness, including marathons at the Olympics or track world championships. Morning kickoffs, however, are rare in soccer, where World Cup match schedules are often set with European TV audiences in mind. It would be hard for FIFA to avoid day-time World Cup kickoffs given the packed match schedule as the number of participating teams increases from 32 to 48 in 2026. Calendar rethink Heat mainly becomes an issue when the World Cup is held in the Northern Hemisphere, because June and July are winter months in the Southern Hemisphere. FIFA has stuck to its traditional June-July schedule for the men's World Cup except in 2022 when it moved the tournament to November-December to avoid the summer heat in Qatar. Something similar is expected when neighboring Saudi Arabia hosts the tournament in 2034. However, moving the World Cup to another part of the year is complicated because it means Europe's powerful soccer leagues must interrupt their season, affecting both domestic leagues and the Champions League. FIFA didn't respond to questions from AP about whether alternate dates for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups were being considered. When and where to schedule the World Cup and other outdoor sports events is likely to become more pressing as the world continues to warm. Athletes and even everyday people doing basic physical activities are now exposed to 28% more of moderate or higher heat risk in 2023 than they were in the 1990s, said Ollie Jay, a professor at the University of Sydney who has helped shape policy for the Australian Open in tennis. 'This is symbolic of something bigger,' said Michael Mann, a University of Pennsylvania climate scientist. 'Not just the danger and inconvenience to fans and players, but the fundamentally disruptive nature of climate change when it comes our current way of life.' ___ Graham Dunbar and Seth Borenstein, The Associated Press Borenstein contributed from Washington, D.C.
Toronto Star
4 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Major League Baseball is spotlighting player fashion on the All-Star Game red carpet
AL starting pitcher Tarik Skubal of Detroit, left, and NL starting pitcher Paul Skenes of Pittsburgh during a news conference, Monday, July 14, 2025 in Atlanta, a day before baseball's MLB All-Star Game. (AP Photo/Ron Blum) flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
National Post
6 hours ago
- National Post
Kyle Schwarber's 3 homers in All-Star Game's first tiebreaking swing-off lift NL over AL
ATLANTA — Kyle Schwarber went 3 for 3 in the first all-star game home run swing-off to put the National League ahead 4-3 following a 6-6 tie in which the American League rallied from a six-run deficit on Tuesday night. Article content In baseball's equivalent of soccer's penalty-kicks shootout, the game was decided by having three batters from each league take three swings each off coaches. The change was agreed to in 2022 to alleviate the concern of teams running out of pitchers. Article content Article content Article content Schwarber was named MVP of the game after going 0 for 2 with a walk in the game. Article content Players from both teams stood outside their dugouts during the swing-off, jumping and shouting after each homer from their side. When Jonathan Aranda's last swing for the AL fell short, NL players circled around Schwarber to celebrate. Article content 'It was awesome,' Schwarber said. 'The guys were really into it. They were yelling, screaming, cheering me on every swing. And then when that last one goes over, they were all pumped. It was a lot of fun.' Article content Managers had to declare their swing-off orders before the game, although Kyle Stowers subbed for Eugenio Suarez for the NL after Suarez was hit on the hand by a pitch late in the game. Article content Brent Rooker put the AL ahead by homering on his last two swings, and Stowers hit one. Article content Randy Arozarena boosted the AL lead to 3-1, and Schwarber was successful on all three tries, going down to a knee as he sent the one into the Chop House seats in right. Article content Aranda failed on all three tries, hitting the right-field wall with his second, and the NL didn't have to use its last batter, two-time Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso, as it won for just the second time in the last 12 all-star games. The AL leads 48-45 with two ties. Article content Article content 'I was ready for it,' said Alonso, who began warming up in a batting cage when the AL tied the game in the ninth inning. 'But I'm glad Schwarbs did it and we did it the easy way.' Article content Ketel Marte's two-run double in the first had put the NL ahead, and Alonso's three-run homer off Kris Bubic and Corbin Carroll's solo shot against Casey Mize opened a 6-0 lead in the sixth. Article content The AL comeback began when Rooker hit a three-run pinch homer against Randy Rodriguez in a four-run seventh that included Bobby Witt Jr.'s RBI groundout. Article content Robert Suarez allowed consecutive doubles to Byron Buxton and Witt with one out in ninth, and Steven Kwan's infield hit on a three-hopper to third off Edwin Diaz drove in the tying run. Article content Joe Torre, the 84-year-old former Yankees manager, went to the mound for a pitching change in the eighth to take the ball from Shane Smith and hand it to Andres Munoz. The Hall of Famer was picked as a coach by current New York skipper Aaron Boone, who managed the AL. Article content Heat on the mound Article content Paul Skenes, the first pitcher to start the all-star game each of his first two seasons, struck out Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene in a perfect first that included Aaron Judge's inning-ending groundout. The 23-year-old right-hander reached 100 mph on four of 14 pitches.
