Fifa has for the first time mandated three-minute hydration breaks in each half for all 104 matches of the upcoming World Cup across the US, Mexico, and Canada. The decision comes amidst forecasts of hot weather and recent memories of the scorching 2025 Club World Cup, with the governing body citing player welfare as the primary concern.
However, these structured stoppages also present a significant new commercial opportunity for broadcasters, offering “extra prime-time air” to advertisers and potentially boosting revenues. The move further aligns the World Cup with American-style sports events, which are typically packed with commercials and entertainment, exemplified by a halftime show featuring Colombian singer Shakira at the 19 July final, echoing the NFL’s Super Bowl.
While Fifa emphasises player well-being, the new breaks could also fuel the growth of media rights as networks are incentivised to compete for the lucrative revenue opportunity.
Hydration breaks at a World Cup were first implemented during the Netherlands v Mexico game in 2014 in Brazil when temperatures exceeded 32 degrees Celsius, though they were then considered on a match-by-match basis.
Michael Johnson, a research analyst covering the US sports industry for S&P Global, told Reuters the addition of hydration breaks could be “extremely valuable” and “could potentially command those Super Bowl level prices within that seven to probably nine-million-dollar range.”
Advertisers recognise the exposure available from the World Cup, with the Argentina v France final from Qatar in 2022 reaching a total of 1.42bn viewers.
“US viewers are used to the NFL style model, NBA style model four quarters. They’re used to in-game breaks. This World Cup is essentially a mirror to those style models,” Johnson explained.
Conversely, in European football, leagues like the Premier League are traditionally broadcast on pay-TV networks such as British broadcaster Sky, where viewers encounter adverts before, at halftime, and after matches.
“I think even subscription broadcasters like Sky in the UK would be very happy to have a little bit more advertising inventory,” said Francois Godard, an independent analyst covering sports industries. Yet, adopting this in-game advertising model could provoke a backlash from fans in non-US markets, particularly in Europe where most leagues play in winter, due to the perceived Americanisation of the event.
“Soccer is infamous for continuous play and purists are kind of worried about how this kind of Americanises the game. And creates viewer fatigue, more ads could annoy fans, especially if they feel intrusive or excessive,” Johnson added.
Structured breaks could dampen the emotional investment of fans already put off by frequent stops for VAR checks. A Football Supporters’ Association survey in the Premier League found that only 3.3% of fans felt their matchday experience improved with VAR.
It remains unclear how many of the myriad global broadcasters transmitting the World Cup will capitalise on the water breaks to show adverts. In Britain, where the sport originated, broadcaster ITV has already stated it will not show adverts during the hydration breaks due to strict advertising limits set by UK regulator Ofcom.
“ITV is seeing regulatory issues and this is the first thing on their mind, but they also have to meet expectations from viewers. And I am not sure that British viewers would have been very welcoming to more advertising,” Godard commented.
Meanwhile, the expanded 48-team tournament, up from 32 previously, is projected to help Fifa’s total 2026 revenue reach $8.9bn, with TV broadcasting rights accounting for 44% of the contribution, according to Fifa’s 2026 budget.
Fifa have yet to confirm whether hydration breaks will be a permanent feature of future tournaments, but the 2030 and 2034 editions are set to be held in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia respectively – all countries where temperatures in the traditional June-July window can climb well above 30C.
The combination of growing media rights cycles and hydration breaks could lead to competitive bidding between streaming platforms and traditional broadcasters for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments, although in some territories the rights for 2030 have already been awarded.
“You’ll see most likely the streaming giants come into play, you know, Apple, Amazon, and especially Netflix, I think will be in the mix,” Johnson said, noting that the World Cup rights deal of Fox Sports, the sports programming division of US media company Fox, expires after the 2026 tournament.
Streaming giant Netflix already holds US broadcasting rights for the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031, adding to a live sports portfolio that includes TKO-owned World Wrestling Entertainment and NFL matches.
