Players at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ will benefit from three-minute hydration breaks in each half of games as FIFA prioritises player welfare throughout next summer’s tournament co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

In a streamlined and simplified version of the breaks used at some previous tournaments, including the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, the referee will stop the game 22 minutes into each half to allow players to rehydrate. There will be no weather or temperature condition in place, with the breaks being called by the referee in all games, to ensure equal conditions for all teams, in all matches.

“For every game, no matter where the games are played, no matter if there’s a roof, (or) temperature-wise, there will be a three-minute hydration break. It will be three minutes from whistle to whistle in both halves,” said Manolo Zubiria, Chief Tournament Officer, USA, for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in announcing the initiative at the World Broadcaster Meeting which was held in Washington DC.

“Obviously, if there’s an injury (stoppage) at the moment of the 20th or 21st minute and it’s ongoing, this will be addressed on the spot with the referee,” he added.

The use of hydration breaks is part of a focused attempt to ensure the best possible conditions for players, drawing upon the experiences of previous tournaments, including the recent FIFA Club World Cup, which took place in the United States last summer.

The now-finalised FIFA World Cup 2026 match schedule has been designed to minimise travel for teams and fans, maximise rest days between matches for all participating nations, and enable the widest possible global audience to follow their teams across different time zones.

This complex exercise included a technical analysis of all venues – from average temperatures and cooling infrastructure to public transport and security – as well as collaborative discussions between various FIFA functional areas, including competition management, team services, medical, TV and broadcasting, and ticketing.

FIFA plans three opening ceremonies at the start of the tournament. As well as the one at the tournament-opening game on Thursday, 11 June 2026 in Mexico City (Mexico v South Africa), ceremonies will also be held before the other host nations' first games on Friday, 12 June 2026, in Toronto (Canada v Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland or Wales) and Los Angeles (United States v Paraguay). In addition, the FIFA World Cup 2026 final on Sunday, 19 July 2026 at New York New Jersey Stadium will feature a Half-Time Show for the first time, as well as the traditional closing ceremony.

Broadcasters from around the world, who were also addressed by FIFA World Cup 2026 Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirigi at the World Broadcaster Meeting, were informed about the plans for the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) and Football Technical Centre in Dallas and the Tournament Operations Centre and Referees Base Camp in Miami.

The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas will serve as the IBC, the official hub for global broadcast media operations. It will be operated by FIFA’s appointed Host Broadcaster, Host Broadcast Services (HBS). Approximately 2,000 broadcast media representatives will have access to state-of-the-art facilities being provided for the final tournament. It will be the second time that Dallas has been designated this prestigious function, having also provided the IBC for the FIFA World Cup in 1994.