Football’s global players’ union renewed concerns on Thursday about ​heat at the 2026 World Cup after scientists warned that the likelihood of dangerous temperatures for players and fans has sharply increased.

An ‌analysis by climate research group World Weather Attribution found that roughly a quarter of the 104 matches at the expanded tournament across the United States, Mexico and Canada are likely to be played in conditions exceeding safety limits recommended by FIFPRO, almost twice the risk seen at the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.

Around five matches could take place in ​conditions considered unsafe, where postponement would be advised, the researchers said.

Scientists assessed the risk using kickoff times and the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) ​index, which measures how effectively the body can cool itself.

“The calculations to estimate the likelihood of 2026 FIFA World ⁠Cup games being played in high WBGT conditions are in line with FIFPRO’s calculations published in 2023,” said FIFPRO’s medical director, Vincent Gouttebarge.

“These estimations justify ​the need for – and implementation of – a series of mitigation strategies with a view to better protecting players’ health and performance when they are exposed to ​hot conditions.”

FIFPRO recommends cooling measures when WBGT rises above 26 degrees Celsius and says matches should be postponed if it exceeds 28C, which is equivalent to roughly 38C in dry heat or 30C in high humidity.

FIFA told Reuters that it has carried out heat-risk planning, with measures including three-minute hydration breaks in each half of games, cooling infrastructure for ​fans and players, adapted work-rest cycles, and enhanced medical readiness that scale according to real-time conditions.

“FIFA is committed to protecting the health and safety of ​players, referees, fans, volunteers and staff,” the global governing body said in a statement.

‘MORE CONSERVATIVE FOOTBALL’

Chris Mullington, consultant anaesthetist at Imperial College London NHS Trust and clinical senior lecturer ‌at Imperial ⁠College London, said extreme heat is more likely to influence how games are played than trigger widespread medical emergencies among players.

“It will be more of a performance issue than a health issue,” he said. “These players are elite athletes and acclimatised. You’ll see players self-pacing. That behavioural thermoregulation is very difficult to override.

“So you may end up with more conservative football.”

Cooling systems are expected to reduce some of the risk at three of the 16 host venues, according to ​the analysis.

However, more than a third of ​games with at least a ⁠10% chance of exceeding 26 C WBGT are scheduled at stadiums without air conditioning, including Miami, Kansas City, New York and Philadelphia.

That includes the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which now faces a one-in-eight chance ​of exceeding the 26 C threshold and a roughly 3% risk of reaching the more dangerous level — about ​double the risk it ⁠would have carried in 1994, the analysis said.

Friederike Otto, professor of climate science at Imperial College London, said the findings highlighted the need for FIFA to reconsider when future World Cups are scheduled, particularly in regions vulnerable to extreme summer heat.

“From a health point of view, it would be advisable to have these (World Cups) ⁠either earlier or ​later in the year, so you can have a football party rather than something that ​is a massive health risk for the whole city,” said Otto.

FIFPRO also warned that while air-conditioned stadiums in cities such as Dallas and Houston may help protect players, fans attending matches and ​outdoor fan festivals could remain exposed to prolonged periods of dangerous heat.

-Reuters

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The Trump administration will not require World Cup ticket holders from countries flagged for ​high rates of visa overstays to pay expensive bonds to enter the United States, ‌a U.S. State Department official said on Wednesday.

The administration last year began requiring visitors from some countries to pay bonds of up to $15,000 to obtain tourist visas to the U.S., saying the steep deposit was needed to ​prevent visa overstays. Fifty countries are currently subject to the bond requirement, which was expanded ​this year.

Five of the 50 countries subject to the visa bonds qualified to participate in ⁠the World Cup: Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia.

Mora Namdar, the top official in the State Department’s ​consular affairs division, said the U.S. would waive the bond requirement for ticket-holding fans who had ​already registered through a special system to expedite their visa processing. Qualifying team members and staff can also have the bonds waived, Namdar said.

“We remain committed to strengthening U.S. national security priorities while facilitating legitimate travel for the ​upcoming World Cup tournament,” she said in a statement.

The Associated Press first reported the news.

The World ​Cup, one of the globe’s biggest sporting events, will be held in June and July this year across ‌three countries – ⁠the United States, Canada and Mexico.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown has already cast a pall over the event and raised concerns about the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Last year, masked federal agents surged into U.S. cities to track down immigration offenders and detained some ​tourists at airports.

The advocacy ​group Human Rights Watch ⁠, in late April, called on FIFA to press the U.S. government to establish an “ICE Truce” for the World Cup, including a public guarantee to refrain ​from immigration enforcement operations at games and venues.

DHS said at the time ​that international ⁠visitors travelling for the games “have nothing to worry about” if they have legal immigration status.

The U.S. launched a system in January to make it easier for World Cup ticket holders to obtain expedited visas. In order ⁠to ​have the bond requirement waived, ticket holders from affected countries ​must have registered in that system, known as FIFA PASS, by April 15.

-Reuters

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New Jersey’s public rail system is further dropping its World Cup ​ticket price from an original $150 per ‌round trip to $98, the rail system provider said on Wednesday.

This NJ TRANSIT cut followed ​a reduction to $105 earlier in ​May.

The prices for the trip, which outraged ⁠World Cup fans both in ​the New York City area and from ​overseas, sparked much political comment, from local officials to U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

Local ​officials had complained that FIFA was ​going to earn billions from the event, while ‌New ⁠Jersey taxpayers would be footing a huge bill for security, disrupted services and other game-related impacts.

“We were able to ​reduce costs ​while ⁠protecting NJ Transit’s daily customers and commuters from bearing the ​financial burden,” NJ Transit Chair ​Priya ⁠Jain said.

The price drop was possible because of additional advertising revenue, the agency ⁠said.

The ​tournament, co-hosted by the ​U.S., Canada and Mexico, starts on June 11.

-Reuters

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