Record temperatures and border checks: how climate and migration policies are reshaping sport.
When the United States, Canada and Mexico were awarded the right to host the 2026 World Cup, much of the attention focused on the tournament’s unprecedented scale. For the first time, the competition would be hosted by three different countries and would feature forty-eight national teams instead of the traditional thirty-two.
Just days before the tournament begins, however, the debate has shifted to other issues. On one side are concerns about the temperatures that could accompany some matches during the North American summer. On the other, a series of incidents at U.S. airports has brought renewed attention to the difficulties some delegations have faced in reaching the host country.
The two issues may seem to belong to completely different spheres. The first concerns climate, the second migration and security policies. Yet both are helping redefine the conditions under which one of the world’s most important sporting events will take place.
In recent months, several climatologists and sports medicine experts have expressed concern about the environmental conditions under which some tournament matches may be played. An analysis by the World Weather Attribution research group estimated that around one quarter of the matches could take place under heat and humidity conditions exceeding the safety thresholds recommended by FIFPRO, the global football players’ union. Reuters also reported concerns from scientists and sports health experts who view the 2026 World Cup as a major test case for football in an increasingly warmer climate. Around a quarter of the matches could be played under conditions considered problematic for athletes’ health because of the combination of high temperatures and humidity.
The cities causing the greatest concern among experts are primarily those in the southern United States, such as Miami, Houston and Dallas, where high summer temperatures combine with particularly elevated humidity levels. Under these conditions, the human body struggles to dissipate the heat generated during physical exertion, increasing the risk of heat stress and dehydration.
The issue also affects fans, volunteers and workers employed at the venues. For this reason, organizers have planned hydration stations, cooling areas, air-conditioned tents and other measures to mitigate the effects of heat around the stadiums.
In recent years, climate change has already begun to alter the way major sporting events are organized. The Tokyo Olympics in 2021 were accompanied by numerous discussions about the high temperatures recorded during competitions, leading some events to be relocated to areas considered less exposed to extreme heat. Tennis has also had to adapt. The Australian Open has introduced specific protocols over the years to deal with heat waves, including suspending matches and implementing extraordinary measures to protect athletes and spectators.
The most famous example remains the World Cup in Qatar. When FIFA awarded the tournament to the emirate in 2010, debate focused mainly on allegations of corruption and the working conditions of migrant laborers employed on construction sites. As the years passed, however, it became evident that holding an international tournament between June and July would pose significant risks for players and spectators. In 2015, FIFA therefore decided to move the tournament to November and December 2022, altering for the first time in history the calendar of Europe’s major football competitions.
The 2026 World Cup will take place during the traditional period, but discussions about temperature and humidity demonstrate how climate has now become a central variable in planning international sporting events. Issues that until a few years ago mainly concerned the environmental sustainability of venues or team travel now directly affect the conditions under which people play, work and attend competitions.
Temperature management entered public debate through what initially appeared to be a secondary controversy. Just days before the start of the tournament, FIFA modified its regulations to ban reusable water bottles inside stadiums for security reasons, arguing that bottles and containers could be thrown and cause injuries. The decision drew criticism from supporters’ associations, which pointed out that restricting access to water during a summer tournament could increase the risk of dehydration and heat-related illnesses.
Among the critics was New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who requested clarification from FIFA, arguing that no fan should risk being “denied access to water” during an event held under intense heat conditions. Following protests from fans, local authorities and environmental groups, FIFA partially revised its position, allowing spectators to bring one sealed bottle of water into stadiums in the United States and Canada. Rigid and reusable bottles, however, remain prohibited.
The controversy illustrates how issues that until recently occupied only a marginal place in sports debates have become integral to the organization of major international events. Access to water, shaded areas, hydration breaks and worker protection are now central elements in planning competitions that take place in a context of steadily rising temperatures.
While experts debated the tournament’s climate conditions, a series of incidents at U.S. airports attracted the attention of the international press.
The most notable case concerns Omar Abdulkadir Artan, a Somali referee selected by FIFA to officiate at the World Cup. According to several reports, Artan was stopped upon arrival in the United States and was not granted permission to enter the country despite possessing the required documentation to participate in the tournament. After being denied entry, the referee relocated to Canada, where he will still be able to take part in the competition.
In the preceding days, the Iraqi delegation had reported similar problems. Striker Aymen Hussein was detained for approximately seven hours at Chicago airport before being allowed entry. According to the Iraqi Football Association, a photographer traveling with the national team was instead denied entry after more than ten hours of inspections.
These incidents were followed by complaints from the delegations of Senegal and Uzbekistan. Several members of the two national teams reported being subjected to extraordinary inspections, searches and checks involving drug-sniffing dogs upon arrival in the United States.
U.S. authorities have not provided detailed public explanations regarding the individual cases. In the case of the Iraqi delegation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment regarding Hussein’s detention and the rejection of photographer Talal Salah. Nevertheless, the close succession of these incidents has fueled a broader debate about the ability of the United States to reconcile its border-control policies with hosting events that require the movement of thousands of people from all over the world.
This is not the first time a major sporting event has become a stage where issues extending beyond the playing field emerge. In recent years, international competitions have been used to discuss labor rights, surveillance, civil liberties, resource consumption and the political use of sport. The debate surrounding the 2026 World Cup fits within this same trajectory.
On one hand, the tournament offers a concrete example of the consequences climate change is producing even in sectors traditionally considered distant from environmental issues. On the other hand, it shows how international mobility continues to be shaped by controls, restrictions and procedures that affect people differently depending on their country of origin.
For many years, football benefited from the idea of an increasingly interconnected world, in which people, goods and information could cross borders with growing ease. The discussions surrounding the 2026 World Cup instead suggest a more complex scenario, one in which managing extreme heat and controlling international mobility are becoming increasingly significant elements in organizing major global events.
In this sense, the issues that have emerged in the weeks leading up to the tournament are not merely side controversies. Rather, they offer a glimpse into transformations that extend far beyond football itself.
Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
The rise in sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, known as El Niño, is often mistakenly linked to summer heat in Europe.
The latest State of the Climate in Europe report paints an alarming picture: the climate crisis is hitting the continent harder than the rest of the world.
Santa Marta climate summit kicks off: the “coalition of the willing” responds to COP deadlock — but without the US and China, it’s an uphill battle
A report by the think tank Ember highlights the true boom of renewable energy in the 74 countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum.
A study shows that by 2050, the increase in heatwave-related deaths will be significantly higher in the world’s poorest countries.
A report by Ember explains that in 2025 electricity generation from renewables (solar, wind and hydropower) surpassed that from fossil fuel sources.
Majuli, the world’s largest river island in Assam State of India is quickly disappearing into the Brahmaputra river due to soil erosion.
Nzambi Matee is a Kenyan engineer who produces sustainable low-cost construction materials made of recycled plastic waste with the aim of addressing plastic pollution and affordable housing.
The Arctic-midlatitude teleconnection will become a less reliable predictor of midlatitude winter anomalies in a warmer future.
