Club World Cup suffers under heat

[Anchor]

With the North and Central America World Cup just a year away, there are claims that the final match should be held in the morning due to the extreme heat.

This concern arises because the ongoing Club World Cup in the United States is facing challenges due to weather conditions.

Reporter Park Sun-woo has the details.

[Report]

As the Club World Cup enters the tournament phase, concerns about poor ticket sales have significantly decreased with the increase in audience numbers.

However, the extreme heat, which has players waiting in locker rooms instead of on the bench, raises worries about the North and Central America World Cup coming up in a year.

According to the BBC, experts have even suggested that the World Cup final should be held at 9 AM.

The International Federation of Professional Footballers has also proposed extending halftime to 20 minutes in case of extreme heat.

[Vincent Gouttebarge/Chairman of the Medical Committee, FIFPro: "15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease body temperature. Could be a half-time of 20 minutes which will be significant."]

Just like the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where Hong Myung-bo played as a player, the upcoming North and Central America World Cup is also expected to face significant challenges due to the heat.

[Commentary during the 1994 World Cup match against Germany: "The players are preoccupied with drinking water. Even sitting still, sweat is pouring down, and they are thirsty. You can think of it as playing in a sauna."]

Frequent delays in Club World Cup matches due to lightning are also a concern.

Chelsea's match was interrupted near the end of the second half, resulting in a total match time exceeding four and a half hours, including extra time.

[Enzo Maresca/Chelsea Manager: "It's not football. It's already seven, eight, nine games that they suspended here. I think it's a joke to be honest. It's not football."]

The North and Central America World Cup, which will be held with 48 countries participating, will inevitably have daytime matches.

National teams are also on high alert to prepare measures for maintaining performance and managing player conditions in the extreme heat.

This is KBS News, Park Sun-woo.