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FIFA’s rules for match days across the United States, Mexico and Canada for the World Cup are much more strict than regular sporting events, and that only continued on Thursday.
With just one week until the first match kicks off, FIFA has now banned refillable plastic water bottles from being allowed inside stadiums.
This is a turn from the original rules, which stated refillable bottles were allowed if the weather was hot enough to justify it. Now, FIFA is saying no bottles no matter the case.
“FIFA is committed to protecting the health and safety of all players, referees, fans, volunteers, and staff,” FIFA told Reuters.
“FIFA made the decision to prohibit bottles to prevent risk and injury to players and attendees.”
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It was previously believed that the refillable water bottles were going to be a good use for soccer fans attending matches because FIFA had told Free Lions, a traveling fan embassy for England’s national squad, shared that the governing body promised access to free water.
“In all of our discussions, free water accessibility in stadiums was a key one and we were assumed by FIFA that this would be the case, and that fans will have the ability to bring their own water bottle,” Free Lions wrote on social media, while also showcasing a graphic that said refillable bottles would be allowed.
FIFA is also blaming certain stadiums being used for the World Cup, saying it is simply applying rules that are already in place there.
Since the World Cup is in the middle of the summer, hot conditions are one of the biggest question marks, especially since some of these players participated in the Club World Cup last year. The final at MetLife Stadium, now named New York/New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup, was a scorcher last summer.
While this new rule is in effect, FIFA had also previously told NPR it would provide “additional cooling capacity, including shaded areas, misting systems, cooling buses, and expanded water distribution” in case of extreme heat. It’s unknown if that is still in effect ahead of the tournament.
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For fans, there remains this question, but players will see a mandatory three-minute cooling break near the 22nd minute of each half to ensure they are not facing heat exhaustion. It will also help that matches at night as well as domed stadiums like SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, AT&T Stadium in Dallas and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The World Cup final, though, will be held in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19 at 3 p.m. ET, which will be peak temperature for the day at first whistle.
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