Gianni Infantino defends cooling breaks, calls 2026 World Cup the most successful event in history | OneFootball

With nearly half the matches played, FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailed strong attendances at World Cup 2026 and defended mandatory cooling breaks.

According to L'Équipe, in a mid-tournament update he called the start an incredible success and said he views the tournament as the most successful event in history, citing more than 2.85 million spectators after 44 of 104 matches and an official 99.6% occupancy rate.

The World Cup is using compulsory cooling breaks for the first time, splitting each half into two roughly 22-minute segments. The measure has drawn criticism, particularly when conditions do not demand it. Infantino argued the main driver is heat, and with a 39-day competition in which teams could play up to eight matches, a pause is extremely important.

He also framed it as a fairness issue for the 48 nations playing across the United States, Canada and Mexico, saying all teams should operate under the same conditions. He suggested it is hard to accept that a coach might gain an advantage by making tactical tweaks in hotter games when a slightly cooler fixture would not offer the same chance.

Infantino stressed FIFA makes no profit from the added stoppages, saying all commercial agreements were signed well in advance and that the decision is purely sporting. An advert break has been introduced during the new interlude by all broadcasters of the tournament.

Source: L'Équipe