How storms could shape the World Cup, and the warning from a year ago | OneFootball

There are 53 days left until the World Cup, and as the start of the tournament — set to begin on June 11 in the United States, Mexico, and Canada — draws closer, an issue that had Club World Cup organizers on edge, the last major tournament held on U.S. soil, is back on the agenda: the lightning storms that hit several cities and forced some matches to be temporarily suspended.

Although the event will be hosted by three countries, the United States is the main one, and the biggest event in world football will take place during June and July, which coincide with summer there. That means temperature was already going to be a factor to deal with. But beyond the heat, the main problem is sudden storms, conditions in which football simply cannot be played.

In fact, the areas most affected in the United States by these weather phenomena are the Northeast, a region that will have several host cities. “At this time of year, especially east of the Rocky Mountains, thunderstorms form quite frequently. Particularly in the northern half of the United States, from Cincinnati to New York,” National Weather Service chief Ben Schott told The Athletic last year, when the issue was worrying Club World Cup organizers.

In the tournament FIFA launched last year, the problems began when the match between Ulsan and Mamelodi Sundowns was delayed for more than an hour because of a storm in Florida. The next day, the game between Red Bull Salzburg and Pachuca was also stopped for an hour and a half in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Although those cities will not host World Cup matches, very nearby places that fall within the region Schott described as problematic will. That is the case with New York and New Jersey, Boston and Philadelphia, located farther north, and Miami, a bit farther south.

The reason is that in storm situations, U.S. safety protocol requires activity to be halted and the stands to be evacuated for at least 30 minutes if weather sensors detect a lightning strike within a 13-kilometer radius. If another strike occurs within that area, the clock resets. Once conditions allow, the players do a five-minute warm-up and resume play, but the stoppage — whose length is never really known in advance — disrupts the match that was being played beforehand.

The issue becomes even more significant considering that one of the stadiums affected by this problem a year ago was MetLife Stadium in New York, the venue chosen to host the World Cup final on July 19. Can anyone imagine the most important title match in football being stopped for an hour because of a lightning storm?

After the lessons left by the Club World Cup, FIFA took note and is preparing to act ahead of the upcoming national-team tournament. “They have already drawn up a plan for adverse weather conditions, which they presented to FIFA officials, and it breaks down, city by city, the possible threats in each of the cities involved in the World Cup,” Schott said.

In this context, it is also impossible to ignore that, although it will not necessarily affect whether a match is stopped, the heat is another factor to consider because of how it will affect the players. In that regard, the venues most affected by high temperatures and especially humidity will be Miami (Hard Rock Stadium), Houston (NRG Stadium), Kansas City (GEHA Field, where the Argentina national team will be based), and Dallas (AT&T Stadium).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.