FIFA prohibits fans from bringing refillable water bottles into World Cup stadiums

FIFA has made a late change of policy to bar World Cup fans from bringing refillable water bottles into the tournaments 16 stadiums across North America including some with limited or no shade from the sunThe Stadium Code of Conduct update was criticised Thursday by an English fan group which argued FIFA had given assurances on carrying empty plastic bottles to fill with freely available water at a tournament where heat and extreme weather are expected to be a factorNaturally the immediate thought from supporters is this is just the latest money grab the Free Lions fan group said in a statementWater sodas and juices sold at World Cup stadiums are supplied exclusively by longtime FIFA sponsor CocaCola when the tournament starts next ThursdayAndrew Giuliani who is the executive director of the White House Task Force for this years World Cup said conversations are ongoing with FIFA about the decisionCertainly understanding that fans with bottles if anything is frozen there they can throw that utilise it as a weapon Giuliani said to a group of reporters including The Associated Press Thursday at a World Cup kickoff event in Miami Thats something frankly that we are still in discussions with FIFA about They made their announcement yesterday so I dont want to comment on it just yetFIFA President Gianni Infantino was also at the event in Miami beach Thursday evening but did not take questions from reportersGiuliani added there is a balance between preparing for hot temperatures and monitoring security risksUnderstanding these games are going to be very hot We want to make sure that fans have access to water so that way they can be hydrated he said We also want to make sure that everybody is safe and that people cant bring a weapon in there So those conversations are still ongoingFIFAs stadium rules had stated that fans could bring in a transparent reusable bottle up to one liter or 338 oz capacityThe latest document dated Tuesday now states for the avoidance of doubt reusable water bottles may not be brought into the stadiumIn all of our discussions the England fans group said free water availability in stadiums was a key one and we were assured by FIFA that this would be the caseIn a statement Thursday the world soccer body said the decision to prohibit bottles which could be thrown was to prevent risk and injury to players and attendeesFIFA is committed to protecting the health and safety of all players referees fans volunteers and staff it saidFIFA said some of the 16 stadiums had already prohibited fans from bringing water bottles so the policy would apply across them allWith temperatures at 32 Celsius 90 Fahrenheit and above expected in many of the US Mexican and Canadian cities hosting the 104 games FIFA said heat mitigation for fans approaching stadiums would include misting stations fans hydration stations cooling tents and moreInside the stadium footprint pricing for water bottles for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will remain consistent with other events held at each stadium the soccer body saidFIFA has reacted to expected heat in some outdoor stadiums by enforcing threeminute drinks breaks midway through each half at all games Critics have said turning all games into four quarters was to create more breaks for broadcasters to sell advertisingFor all of the effort they are going to with drinks breaks for the players this is such a strange late change the Free Lions fan group said of the water bottle banThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever