With the new rules, all matches at the upcoming World Cup will effectively be split into four ‘quarters’. The innovation was also tested at the Club World Cup in 2025.
Broadcasters split
With newly introduced ‘cooling breaks’, FIFA now opens up for broadcasters to show ads during these pauses. Rights holders are already split into two camps.
Play stops regardless
The breaks will be a fixed part of all matches — regardless of conditions. Officially, it’s about player health and wellbeing in the heat across the United States, Mexico and Canada, but it doesn’t take much to see that there is at least as strong a commercial rationale behind the decision. A report published in September 2025 did, however, conclude that 10 out of 16 stadiums at the upcoming World Cup carry a high risk of extreme heat stress during matches — supporting FIFA’s move to some extent.
Two new ad blocks approved by FIFA
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino is effectively allowing broadcasters and platforms to squeeze in a couple of extra ad blocks. The breaks are formally controlled by the referee and will typically last around 2–3 minutes – just enough for commentators and pundits to take over, analyse and fill the gap that appears when the game is paused.
More airtime for pundits
This is where voices like Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher would normally tear into a questionable decision, while coaches try to adjust – and where production teams can run a couple of ads before the referee calls the players back.
Football’s home says no
In the UK, ITV has already chosen a different path. Here, the focus is on maintaining the flow of the game and the viewing experience rather than exploiting the breaks commercially.
France goes all-in
In France, things look different. M6 has already announced that it will actively use the breaks. This will not be about silence and water bottles – but about commercial value and broadcast integration.
Top-level criticism
Criticism is already starting to surface — and it’s coming from the very top of the game. “No matter the team. Three minutes ruins everything,” said France head coach Didier Deschamps to Goal.
US head coach Mauricio Pochettino shares that view:
“I don’t like it, to be honest.” He said that to the New York Post based on very recent experience. The setup has already been tested in practice.
Boos as play is stopped
It has already been tested in practice. During a friendly between the United States and Belgium, the new setup was trialled. Spectators watched as an otherwise intense match was suddenly stopped due to the new ‘cooling/drinks break’. It was not well received, with boos from the crowd as play was interrupted.
Effectively four quarters now
With fixed breaks in both halves, matches start to change character. Not necessarily dramatically from the first whistle, but gradually, as the game no longer flows in the same way. Momentum can be broken, coaches get new opportunities to adjust, and matches in practice begin to resemble something split into sequences rather than two continuous halves.
A shift no one fully understands yet
That is the development World Cup 2026 will be the first real test of.
What it means for the game – and the experience of watching it – will only truly become clear once the tournament gets underway. It may also turn out that the breaks can be used in ways that audiences actually benefit from.
The World Cup takes place from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Sources: Goal.com, New York Post, sportbuzzbusiness.fr, The Guardian
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