What’s behind mandatory hydration breaks at the World Cup?

FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, has imposed a three-minute hydration break midway through each half of all 104 matches at the 2026 World Cup, creating de facto four quarters in a game that was always just two halves. Officially, this is meant to prioritize “player welfare”. But it seems there’s more to it than that. Although increasing revenue by showing more ads is not an official goal, announcing in March this year that broadcasters will may to sell advertising during mandatory tournament breaks, FIFA facilitated a change with huge financial implications.

Apparently, the rule protects athletes from excessive heat. Experts agree that under such conditions water breaks are good for the players’ health. But the rule also applies in domed, climate-controlled stadiums and outdoors when the weather isn’t hot. FIFA says this ensures a consistent, standardized approach throughout the tournament. But making the stops mandatory for all games regardless of (weather) conditions it raises an unanswered question: To what extent is the rule change also being driven by a huge ad revenue opportunity that comes from opening up exclusive ad slots to TV networks during games?

Before this year’s World Cup, water breaks were considered per match, starting with the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The first such unofficial water outage occurred during a very hot and humid group stage match between the United States and Portugal in Manaus, Brazil. And the first official “cooling break” took place in the same tournament, in Fortaleza, Brazil. This was during the round of 16 match between the Netherlands and Mexico. The temperature reached 39°C (102°F).

Breaks were made at the discretion of the match referee and only apply if the so-called Liquid Bulb Temperature – a measure that takes into account heat, humidity, wind and cloud cover – exceeds 32°C (89.6°F).

Notably, while US broadcaster Fox limits itself to full-screen advertising during hydration breaks, US-based Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo has expressly pledged not to. Instead of abandoning the game stream, Telemundo broadcasts what’s happening on the field live, including team huddles, and features replays and analysis. So for US viewers who prefer this format (and want to watch their Spanish), they can tune in to Telemundo.

In Europe, whether viewers see ads during hydration breaks will depend on the country you’re in. Some national broadcasters prohibit such advertisements. Others introduce them for the first time to an audience unaccustomed to seeing spots at any point in the game other than halftime.

Observers suggest that hydration breaks also offer new tactical opportunities for coaches to discuss strategy with their players, similar to timeouts in American football, basketball and ice hockey.

Other changes happening at this year’s World Cup include coaches’ half-time interviews throughout the tournament and a half-time show at the final match next month, featuring Shakira and Madonna among others.

The European news media are talking about Americanization of the sport of football, which is ironic given that it’s not even in the top four sports in terms of viewership in the US

My first taste of professional football came in the fall of 1980. Having just arrived in the Netherlands, I wanted to immerse myself in the Dutch culture. What’s better than watching football (“voetbal”) on TV. Back then very few games were televised. But when it was, I watched with my family on the black and white Aristona TV.

What initially drew me to the game was the sequel. There were no official clock breaks other than the half-time and full-time whistles. In fact, in the two halves of 45 minutes, there were practically no interruptions of play for anything. This included the minutes the referees would seemingly arbitrarily add to each half.

There were no ads or timeouts. And when someone went down with an injury, the game usually continued unless it looked serious. And even then, the referees seemed to view the injuries as nuisances that stopped the flow of the game. Almost as soon as the training staff attended to an apparently injured player, the referee had him move off the touchline so play could continue.

As someone who loathes ads of any kind, I found this refreshing. I still do. Beyond the simplicity of what is called the beautiful game, there is something special about watching a match uninterrupted by spots.

But now that is changing, at least in the World Cup, supposedly for the safety of the players. But I believe the saying follow the money applies here, as it does in most areas of life in 2026.