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Fifa are likely to schedule World Cup matches involving major European nations after midnight UK time next year in an effort to combat heat issues that affected the recent Club World Cup.
It had been anticipated World Cup kick-off times would mirror those at the Club World Cup, when the earliest games started at 17:00 BST, followed by 20:00, 23:00 and 02:00.
However, while 17:00 and 20:00 would suit European broadcasters, the former would be a midday kick-off on the United States east coast and the latter a midday kick-off on the west coast.
Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique complained about his team having to play in near 40 degree heat in their Club World Cup opener against Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles, which started at 12:00 local time.
Numerous coaches and players were affected by the heat and humidity, with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez complaining of dizziness while playing.
Asked during his speech at the Leaders Conference in Twickenham for the major lessons learned from the Club World Cup, Victor Montagliani, who as president of the North and Central American Confederation Concacaf is in charge of the event, replied: "Kick-off times."
With 48 teams at the World Cup, there are 11 consecutive days in the group phase that have four games, each played at different times, when 12:00 kick-offs were expected to be commonplace.
While five of the 16 stadiums being used in the United States, Canada and Mexico either have roofs as standard or a sliding roof that can offer shade, it is impractical for all the early kick-offs to be scheduled in them.
When pressed to expand on his comments, Montagliani, who is also a vice-president of world governing body Fifa, said: "Kick-off times are always an issue in our region because summers are hot in Canada and US.
"We're having conversations daily with European media and other world media, in terms of what's best and which are the stadiums that you can play at 3pm. That's all in the mix now.
"Once the actual schedule comes out after the draw, we will do our best to ensure it's taken into consideration. Will it be that every game will be absolutely perfect from a kick-off time, from a TV perspective? I don't know."
Montagliani wouldn't be drawn on the recent threat by US president Donald Trump to move some of the games away from cities he deemed to be "unsafe".
However, he made it clear the move is not Trump's to make as only Fifa have the power to shift matches.
"If I have to react every time a politician makes a statement, whether it's a president, or senator, or congressman, or even in my country, or even in Mexico, then I wouldn't be doing my job," he said.
"The reality is we're focused on the 16 venues.
"It's Fifa's tournament. They make the decisions. It's their jurisdiction. With all due respect to current world leaders, football is bigger than them."
It had been anticipated World Cup kick-off times would mirror those at the Club World Cup, when the earliest games started at 17:00 BST, followed by 20:00, 23:00 and 02:00.
However, while 17:00 and 20:00 would suit European broadcasters, the former would be a midday kick-off on the United States east coast and the latter a midday kick-off on the west coast.
Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique complained about his team having to play in near 40 degree heat in their Club World Cup opener against Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles, which started at 12:00 local time.
Numerous coaches and players were affected by the heat and humidity, with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez complaining of dizziness while playing.
Asked during his speech at the Leaders Conference in Twickenham for the major lessons learned from the Club World Cup, Victor Montagliani, who as president of the North and Central American Confederation Concacaf is in charge of the event, replied: "Kick-off times."
With 48 teams at the World Cup, there are 11 consecutive days in the group phase that have four games, each played at different times, when 12:00 kick-offs were expected to be commonplace.
While five of the 16 stadiums being used in the United States, Canada and Mexico either have roofs as standard or a sliding roof that can offer shade, it is impractical for all the early kick-offs to be scheduled in them.
When pressed to expand on his comments, Montagliani, who is also a vice-president of world governing body Fifa, said: "Kick-off times are always an issue in our region because summers are hot in Canada and US.
"We're having conversations daily with European media and other world media, in terms of what's best and which are the stadiums that you can play at 3pm. That's all in the mix now.
"Once the actual schedule comes out after the draw, we will do our best to ensure it's taken into consideration. Will it be that every game will be absolutely perfect from a kick-off time, from a TV perspective? I don't know."
Montagliani wouldn't be drawn on the recent threat by US president Donald Trump to move some of the games away from cities he deemed to be "unsafe".
However, he made it clear the move is not Trump's to make as only Fifa have the power to shift matches.
"If I have to react every time a politician makes a statement, whether it's a president, or senator, or congressman, or even in my country, or even in Mexico, then I wouldn't be doing my job," he said.
"The reality is we're focused on the 16 venues.
"It's Fifa's tournament. They make the decisions. It's their jurisdiction. With all due respect to current world leaders, football is bigger than them."
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There were games after midnight in '94 when there were far fewer games to be played, so it 's not an innovation.
If Trump decides match Cities will be changed we should, most certainly in my view, expect them to be changed.
“Only FIFA have the power to shift matches”. That may well be so but if Trump takes it into his head to put FIFA in an impossible position by closing venue cities to them then FIFA may just have to lump it. What other options would they have? Sueing the President?
Are we going to see the biggest farce ever in sporting history?
“Only FIFA have the power to shift matches”. That may well be so but if Trump takes it into his head to put FIFA in an impossible position by closing venue cities to them then FIFA may just have to lump it. What other options would they have? Sueing the President?
Are we going to see the biggest farce ever in sporting history?
Football is bigger than Trump?…….is he barmy. This fella can bomb Iran and get away with it. If he wants to close stadiums its a piece of cake. He will just invent “ Security Issues “.
There's a lot more to moving a match than locking one stadium up and unlocking a different one.
dont think the football world can take 4 weeks of some lunatic telling the world , the soccer game,s on tonight but a few people elsewhere call it a FOOTBALL MATCH, probably the same people who use the word GROCERIES
Trump doesn't want matches played in Democrat cities. They are all lawless war zones!
Have never used the word groceries in my life. Up here we go for the “messages”.
Feel free to p I s h yourself laughing.
Feel free to p I s h yourself laughing.
Surely their biggest broadcasting partners are European and they'll make sure any big European clashes happen at broadcastable times in Europe?
They changed the England v Italy game in the 2014 World Cup if you remember, it was originally scheduled for 2am, they moved it to 11pm.
Kind Regards.
They changed the England v Italy game in the 2014 World Cup if you remember, it was originally scheduled for 2am, they moved it to 11pm.
Kind Regards.
Fox will broadcast the 2026 world cup in America in English, NBC Universal in Spanish.
I guess in the end money will settle the argument and the players will suffer.
I guess in the end money will settle the argument and the players will suffer.
Yeah, easy to schedule big euro games to be played on east coast
to get better times
to get better times
If they get the lightning storms that they got at the CWC that is going to be much more of a derailing factor than Trump or the heat. Farcical stuff with multiple games and cities affected, including Miami and NY where the final 2 games will be played.
If they can predict that weather again months in advance I can see them moving games to different cities, games in Miami being the prime candidate.
If they can predict that weather again months in advance I can see them moving games to different cities, games in Miami being the prime candidate.
Seriously - who the hell is going to buy advanced tickets for any match now - before the ridiculous prices were revealed? Come to the world cup, spend thousands on tickets and hotels only to risk being turned round at the airport due to a repost of a Spanish meme from 6 years back about orange idiots.
Or they don't like the fact you've deleted all sm (so you must be up to no good) and are put on the first flight back if you're lucky, any reason they want! No one will go to a country whose leader has declared half the country a war zone fit only for their troops not stuffing their faces with burgers to use as target practice.
No no one will watch it on tv either!
Or they don't like the fact you've deleted all sm (so you must be up to no good) and are put on the first flight back if you're lucky, any reason they want! No one will go to a country whose leader has declared half the country a war zone fit only for their troops not stuffing their faces with burgers to use as target practice.
No no one will watch it on tv either!
Take a pair of crutches if going to usa
No queues
No queues
Let's hope like the Jamaican Bob Sled team that "we off to Canada" and get at least a couple of games there so they're not in the dead of the night over here.
Kind Regards.
Kind Regards.
Oct 7, 2025 -- 2:31PM, spyker wrote:
Seriously - who the hell is going to buy advanced tickets for any match now - before the ridiculous prices were revealed? Come to the world cup, spend thousands on tickets and hotels only to risk being turned round at the airport due to a repost of a Spanish meme from 6 years back about orange idiots. Or they don't like the fact you've deleted all sm (so you must be up to no good)
Unhinged drivel. Trump is a big sports fan, his son is a big football fan too. He is going to want it to go smoothly and go to the final and make it about him.
It's unhinged lefties in democrat cities who are most likely to disrupt.
No one will watch it on TV?! WTF are you on about?
It's unhinged lefties in democrat cities who are most likely to disrupt.
No one will watch it on TV?! WTF are you on about?
Trump will be quarter back for the yoo ess ayh.
It's genuinely Evens Trump, his high cholesterol, dodgy ticker and potential hitmen out to get him, even makes it to the first Kick off next Summer. Kind Regards.
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