Football is one of the most played sports in the world and the FIFA World Cup tournament is watched by millions of supporters around the globe. The competition is held during the month of July and the host nation is selected from a group of candidates. FIFA is split into continental zones and a host country cannot bid if another from the same continental zone has hosted one of the two previous tournaments, this ensures the competition is played in countries around the globe. The previous World Cup was held in South Africa in 2010, 2014 will see Brazil as hosts and Russia and Qatar will host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Always holding the competition in July is great for continuity however, in some countries this can mean that the football players are playing in exceedingly hot temperatures. Brazil is generally always a warm country but their summer period is January and in July the heat should be more bearable with average temperatures of around 24c however in Qatar the average daytime temperature in July often exceeds a stifling 40c.

The human body is a clever system that operates best at a standard internal temperature of around 37c, regulatory mechanisms within the body work to maintain this optimum temperature keeping the body in a stabilized equilibrium. Whilst playing football or any sport the body temperature rises, body systems then react to cool the body down, in hot weather the main mechanism for this is evaporation of sweat. In hot and humid temperatures such as those in Qatar in July the bodies ability to cool by sweat evaporation is reduced, oxygen requirements are increased as the skin and muscles demand more this can be very dangerous. More fluid is lost whilst playing football in hot climates up from an average of 2 litres to 3.5 litres, and performance is inevitably decreased. Football shirts are designed to help the body remove excess sweat but are not efficient enough to be of much use in scorching 40c temperatures.

Football players who live and work in these temperate climates will have a significant advantage over players from cooler countries as their bodies will have acclimatised over long periods to the working conditions. Football teams can help themselves prepare for these hot conditions by spending a period of around two weeks acclimatising to the conditions gradually building up training and practice sessions during this period. Players should ensure adequate hydration by increasing their fluid intake and they should not expend unnecessary energy during a game, in addition to this the shirts worn during training and matches should be changed frequently as sweat soaked kits will inhibit further sweat evaporation and body cooling.

If the body can no longer tolerate the heat and cool down heat stress will occur, the symptoms football players and medical professionals need to be aware of include muscle cramps, heat rash, inability to concentrate, fainting, heat exhaustion and severe thirst. Footballers in any summer football tournament need to be aware of the potentially dangerous problem of over heating however, there will be a much higher degree of consideration given to the problem ahead of Qatar 2022, as a nation Qatar is aware of the heat disadvantage and are proposing roofed, air conditioned stadiums to ensure the safety and comfort of the players and spectators. This proposal has caused some controversy as football is generally an outdoor, open air sport.

Do you think football tournaments should be held in countries where the temperature could be dangerous for the players?

Do you think it is reasonable to hold such tournaments in indoor, air conditioned arenas?

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