The FIFA Club World Cup was supposed to be a bright light shining on the most popular sport in the world, giving Americans a chance to see the best footballers on Earth on American soil. Well, the bright light part has been true at least. Unfortunately, it’s also a burning light.
Though the Club World Cup has yet to reach the knockout stages, thunderstorms delayed several group stage matches last week, and now blistering heat is taking its toll on the tournament as well, with extreme temperatures causing major concerns for several clubs involved in the tournament.
On Saturday, June 21, Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac told the media that he was ‘sweating like (he’d) just come out of a sauna’ following his team’s victory on TQL Field in Cincinnati. The temperature reached 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 32 degrees Celsius. It was so hot that Dortmund’s subs weren’t even on the field during the game.
But it’s not just TQL that’s feeling the heat. The American Northeast in general has offered difficult conditions for many teams.
The heat wave is supposed to ramp up throughout this week as well. Clearly, the weather concerns that many fans had at the start of the tournament are starting to come to fruition.
Which venues are experiencing issues?
According to CBS News, the heat wave is strongest in the American northeast with some states recording record-high temperatures. Areas in the mid-Atlantic like Maryland and Virginia are also under extreme heat warnings. Meanwhile, states in the Midwest like Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio are facing blazing heat as well.
While other areas further south like Atlanta and Nashville are also suffering the affects of the heat wave, those cities are more used to temperatures in the 90s during the summer.
Here are the Club World Cup stadiums affected most (with the forecast for Tuesday, June 24 according to The Weather Channel)
TQL Stadium in Cincinnati – Highs in the mid 90s
GEODIS Park in Nashville – Highs in the upper 90s
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – Highs in the mid to upper 90s
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey – High of 102 degrees
Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia – High of 101 degrees
Audi Field in Washington, D.C. – High of 101 degrees
The heat wave is expected to persist until the middle of next week in some areas, meaning the Round of 16 knockout matches will likely suffer from similar heat issues.
Will these same problems occur when the U.S. hosts the World Cup?
These heat issues have raised concerns for next year’s big event as well. The United States will host the 2026 World Cup, with the first games kicking off on June 11. Similar heat issues would create a terrible atmosphere for arguably the world’s biggest sporting event.
The New York Times reports that it is highly likely similar heat waves occur when the World Cup begins. Given that there were already struggles with heat during the 2024 Copa America, officials are right to be concerned with how this will affect players and fans. It will only be heightened by the fact that most of the games are scheduled for afternoon start times.
When do the knockout stages begin for the Club World Cup?
The knockout stage begins on Saturday, June 28, with the winners of Group A and Group C taking on the runner-ups in Groups B and D, respectively. Round of 16 matchups will continue through Tuesday, July 1, which could be around the time that the heat starts dying down.