'Extremely important' - Infantino defends hydration breaks as $1bn ad boom emerges

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Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed why hydration breaks are ‘extremely important’ at the 2026 World Cup, denying that world football’s governing body is making ‘anything extra’ from the innovation.

Prior to the World Cup, it was announced by FIFA that each match would feature an additional three-minute stoppage midway through each half that it branded a ‘hydration break’.

Fans have routinely booed the break at each game, with critics arguing that FIFA has buckled under pressure from advertisers to include an additional stoppage in the game. Not only is the break sponsored by a prominent drinks company, but it is also handily packaged as the length of an ad break for television companies.

Player welfare was cited as a major reason for the implementation of the new break when it was announced last December. This came after criticism from players after last summer's Club World Cup provoked a critical reaction from players, with Enzo Fernandez notably describing the situation as "very dangerous" as he reportedly felt "dizzy".

Infantino defends hydration breaks

Such has been the controversy around the subject, FIFA has been drawn into make a statement defending the breaks, with Gianni Infantino protesting that the organisation is making no additional revenue from the innovation and is only interested in equality.

“The main reason is the heat, but we also have to understand that in a competition like the FIFA World Cup, played over 39 days, with teams potentially playing eight matches in those 39 days, having a moment to rest is extremely important,” he argued.

“What matters even more to us is ensuring that all teams, in every match, are playing under the same conditions. And it’s very difficult to accept that a coach might have the opportunity to influence a match by making adjustments simply because it’s hotter, while in another match, where the temperature is slightly lower, the same coach doesn’t have the same opportunity. We want to ensure equal conditions for everyone, and that’s why these breaks are implemented in every match.

“There is no additional revenue for FIFA, as all commercial agreements were signed well in advance. So, this is not a financial issue for us. For us, it is purely a sporting matter.”

How valuable after hydration breaks?

FIFA may not have directly benefited financially from hydration breaks, but their broadcast partners certainly have.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the advertising revenue from these breaks in play have been a money spinner for Fox Sports, which is the US broadcaster of the World Cup. It claims that the media company stands to benefit to the tune of $250-330 million – covering a huge chunk of the $485m it paid for the broadcast rights.

While FIFA may not have made additional revenue this time around, this innovation stands to land them a bigger deal for the next World Cup.

“The rights for this World Cup, Fox Sports got for only $485m (£367m),” Dennis Deninger, author of Live Sports Media: The What, How and Why of Sports Broadcasting, told BBC Sport.

“If they're making $250m just on the hydration breaks, that rights fee is a real bargain.

“When FIFA goes into rights negotiations next time, they can say their product is worth more, because broadcasters can sell sponsorship in these hydration breaks, have more advertising, and there is the increased amount of matches, so they can charge every broadcaster in every country more money.

“There is never any going back – when there is an opportunity to make more money, nobody ever says 'let's make less money'.”

Globally, the value of advertising during hydration breaks is thought to be worth more than €1 billion, prompting experts to predict that FIFA’s latest innovation is here to stay.