Footballers get water, and FIFA gets 10 extra hours of advertising time.
South Korea national team players drink water during a Group A World Cup match against Czechia in Zapopan, Mexico, near Guadalajara. June 11, 2026. Photo: AP Photo / Matias Delacroix
The idea of a «water break» first appeared at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Back then, FIFA allowed such breaks only during matches played in intense heat — at temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius.
However, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, at the current World Cup in the USA, they have become mandatory regardless of the weather. Matches now regularly stop around the 22nd and 67th minutes. For example, during the USA national team's first match of the tournament in Los Angeles, a hydration break was announced at a temperature of only about 21 degrees Celsius.
Therefore, many in the football world believe that it's not just about player health. Each match gets two additional three-minute breaks, and a total of 104 matches will be played in the tournament. As a result, organizers and broadcasters receive more than ten extra hours of airtime for showing advertisements.
According to estimates by representatives of the American advertising market, a 30-second commercial during regular matches can cost around 200 thousand dollars. If the USA national team is playing, the cost of advertising increases to approximately 750 thousand dollars.
Fox Sports, which holds the English-language broadcast rights for the tournament in the USA, showed five consecutive commercials during the very first water break. And in the second half of the opening match, the advertisements ran so long that viewers even missed several seconds of the game.
Fox Sports Vice President Zac Kenworthy noted before the start of the tournament that FIFA is constantly looking for new ways to develop competitions and is very interested in studying the American experience of organizing sports broadcasts.
Bosnia and Herzegovina national team midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic drinks water during a match against Canada. June 12, 2026. Photo: Michael Steele / Getty Images
This approach has sparked skepticism among many in the football world. France national team head coach Didier Deschamps noted that the three-minute breaks interrupt the flow of the game, disrupt the rhythm, and force everyone to adapt. «But the broadcasters are probably happy,» he remarked even before the start of the tournament.
Fans reacted most emotionally to the innovation. Social media was filled with complaints that the «beautiful game» is now being paused so corporations can push their products. Nevertheless, they are not too surprised that advertising breaks have finally made their way into the game.
As WSJ notes, for as long as football has existed, there has always been one problem with adapting it to the American model of sports broadcasting. American football, basketball, and baseball are literally permeated with timeouts, breaks, ends of innings, and changes of possession.
Traditional football, on the other hand, always ran continuously: two halves of 45 minutes with no breaks whatsoever. Now, with «hydration breaks,» organizers have effectively divided the football match into four quarters.
What do you think about these innovations?
Now reading
"Arms Dealer Serykh Could Have Kidnapped Kotov to Hand Him Over to Belarusian Special Services and Gain Lukashenka's Attention" — Stanislau Ivashkevich 88
"Arms Dealer Serykh Could Have Kidnapped Kotov to Hand Him Over to Belarusian Special Services and Gain Lukashenka's Attention" — Stanislau Ivashkevich 8
«Out of desperation, he went to Belarus, where he had an operation.» A comrade-in-arms told what is known about the arrested Kalinouski fighter Andrei Siarheyeu 1313
Comments