© Hannah Foslien-Imagn Images
The 2026 FIFA World Cup could well look dramatically different for those watching at home after the sport’s governing body made a groundbreaking announcement on Thursday regarding TV broadcasts.
Late last year, FIFA announced that it would implement three-minute “hydration breaks” during each half of every match at the upcoming World Cup.
Now, hydration breaks at major tournaments are not new. However, they’d previously only been implemented during matches with exceedingly high temperatures (32 degree celsius/90 degree farenheit). In the upcoming World Cup, the breaks will occur during all matches regardless of weather conditions.
Unsurprisingly, that did not go over well with fans, who were quick to call out the new measures as a way to insert more advertisements for broadcasters.
“A disastrous move – football needs constant rhythm to be at its best. Hope the adverts are good!” journalist Michael Cox said at the time.
Well, now FIFA has confirmed those suspicions.
FIFA To Allow Commercial Breaks For Broadcasters During ‘Hydration’ Breaks
Henry Bushnell of The Athletic reports that FIFA, unsurprisingly, recently informed broadcasters that they can use the hydration break periods as a time to air advertisements during match broadcasts.
When first announced, FIFA claimed the breaks were a matter of “player welfare” measure. Although now it appears the real reason has been exposed.
According to Bushnell, the ad breaks do have some rules.
“Broadcasters have been told that the ad break shouldn’t start within 20 seconds of the referee’s whistle pausing play, and that they shall return to the match feed more than 30 seconds before play resumes,” he reports. “This means that they would have a two-minute, 10-second window for the commercials.”
Unsurprisingly, fans are still furious at the changes.
“The implementation of ‘quarters’ in big tournaments was inevitable from FIFA. Their greed knows no end,” one person posted on X.
“Of course they will. ‘Hydration breaks’ will be the first opportunity to cut away to ads; commercials during VAR checks will no doubt follow in the future,” wrote another.
Ultimately, this was only a matter of time. But in a game where physical fitness and rhythm are extremely important to the outcome, these changes could drastically impact the way soccer looks moving forward.