World Cup player health

To face these challenges head on, colleagues from Loughborough University have published a new pair of Open Access peer-reviewed articles in the journal Sports Medicine, outlining how national football teams can better protect player health and optimise performance during the tournament, against these challenges.

Led by researchers from the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences and an international team of experts in environmental physiology, travel fatigue, altitude performance, and sports medicine, the research examines a wide range of environmental stressors. These include:

Extreme heat and humidity

High altitude venues

Air pollution exposure

Seasonal allergens

Extensive international travel and jet lag

The main review article “The 2026 Men’s FIFA Football World Cup: Evidence‑Based Guidelines to Protect Player Health and Performance from Environmental Challenges” details the predicted environmental challenges alongside evidence-based strategies to best mitigate their impact. Relevant clinical considerations for each challenge are also outlined.

The partner review article “One Step Further: Integrating Evidence‑Based Guidelines into Practice to Address Environmental Challenges at the Men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup” presents a framework translating sports science and medicine evidence into practical and real-world compatible strategies for tournament football.

Researchers warn that the variation between the sixteen host cities creates significant risks to both player health and on-field performance if teams do not prepare strategically.

Dr Lee Taylor, Reader in Exercise and Environmental Physiology, and the project lead, explains: “This summer’s World Cup is the largest to-date, in terms of duration, squad size, and number of teams whilst also occurring in the shadow of climate change.

“We saw several tournament cities experience exceptional heat during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 while others cities are within close proximity to frequent wild fire hot spots.

“The 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup spans 16 cities within the USA, Mexico and Canada, covering ~2700 miles east to west and ~2400 miles north to south. Together these factors create a myriad of highly variable environmentally orientated challenges to mitigate, to protect player health and performance across the tournament.

“It has been great to work with the expert international co-authors and provide these freely available review articles, which we hope will be of benefit to the teams competing at this summer’s World Cup.”

The research identifies several priority areas for teams preparing for this summer’s expanded tournament which takes from 11 June – 19 July. These include:

Heat Management

Structured heat acclimation before competition

Monitoring body temperature and hydration status

Use of pre-cooling and in-game cooling strategies to reduce thermal strain

Hydration and Recovery

Simple daily monitoring methods combining body weight, urine colour, and thirst assessment

Individualised hydration plans rather than one-size-fits-all protocols

Travel and Sleep Optimisation

Strategies to minimise jet lag and travel fatigue

Gradual progression of training intensity after arrival

Optimised sleep environments and monitoring approaches

Environmental Health Protection

Preparation for altitude exposure and air quality variation

Individual medical oversight for allergy and medication strategies

Professor Tim Meyer (Saarland University, Germany) who has held the position of Germany Men’s team doctor at six World Cups and six European Championships, commented:

“Having experienced a number of tournaments and championships across the globe I know well that appropriate preparation for the variety of climatic and environmental factors at each training and match venue is going to be key for success.

“These articles place an emphasis on trying to guide practitioners on how to mitigate these factors, before and during the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup. We hope the articles will be of use to teams preparing for this summer’s World Cup, especially as they are Open Access and freely downloadable.”

The reviews emphasise national teams differ widely in resources, staffing, and player needs, and thus each nation must deploy appropriate methods that are compatible with their specific needs.

The review also notes that interventions do not always require expensive technology. For example, low-cost solutions such as ice towels or ice slushie drinks may provide meaningful benefits in the heat, when resources are limited.

The main review article is available here.

The partner review article is also available here.

The Loughborough University research team included Dr Lee Taylor and Dr Bryna Chrismas ((School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences). External collaborators included Dr Chris Esh (Postdoctoral Researcher at Aspetar and Visiting Fellow School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences), Dr Sarah Carter (La Trobe University), Dr Valerie Bougault (Université Côte d'Azur), Prof Olivier Girard (The University of Western Australia), Prof Christa Janse van Rensburg (University of Pretoria) and Prof Tim Meyer (Saarland University).

For further insights from Dr Taylor, follow him on X (@DrLeeTaylor) or LinkedIn.

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