The beautiful game is beautiful no more. With the 2026 World Cup set to get underway this summer, FIFA will reportedly allow broadcasters to cut away to commercials during “hydration breaks” in matches, according to The Athletic.
The move comes after soccer’s global governing body announced the introduction of three-minute hydration breaks midway through each 45-minute half at the World Cup for the sake of “player welfare.” This will mark the first time that such breaks will be implemented at a major soccer tournament, essentially turning two traditional halves into four quarters.
“For the first time, in a way, soccer will become almost like a four-quarter (American) football or basketball (game),” Telemundo execuetive vice president of sports Joaquin Duro said. “Which, I guess, for American sports, it makes sense. For soccer? I don’t know. Soccer is different.”
FIFA’s decision to allow for more commercials to be shown during matches does come with caveats, as The Athletic noted.
Broadcasters can’t cut away to ads within 20 seconds of the referee’s whistle initiating the hydration break. They must also return to the match feed more than 30 seconds before play resumes—this gives them a two-minute, 10-second window for commercials. And the biggest kicker is this: they actually aren’t required to show any ads at all, if they so wish. It’s also possible networks will opt for split-screen ads—like the ones seen on NFL RedZone—that still keep the game feed on the screen.
But the majority of soccer fans almost immediately bemoaned the likely fact that more commercials are coming to this summer’s World Cup, and there’s nothing they can do about it:
The United States has convinced FIFA to switch Soccer from halves to quarters. Flawless American cultural victory. https://t.co/O9HnjPWs1m
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) March 5, 2026
Game is lost https://t.co/BJhwECMr4F
— Felipe Cárdenas (@FelipeCar) March 5, 2026
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) March 5, 2026
What in the NFL is this? 😭 https://t.co/w8DfIoDllo
— Younes H-Hamou (@youneshhamou_) March 5, 2026
They’re really working hard to make this the worst World Cup of all time https://t.co/M25ZqzyXVG
— Kellen Becoats (@KellenBecoats) March 5, 2026
Game’s gone. https://t.co/PLWxT3oxQc pic.twitter.com/wHZPTPL4On
— Liam Fennessy (@LiamFennessy_) March 5, 2026
https://t.co/bizrBpy87H pic.twitter.com/sM6WQ2uxK9
— Star Spangled Ballers (@SpangledBallers) March 5, 2026
America gonna America. https://t.co/a709fV0syR
— Tommie (@tommiedotjpg) March 5, 2026
Though this latest development doesn’t seem to be directly tied to the fact that the United States is one of the co-hosts for the 2026 World Cup, fans couldn’t help but draw parallels to that of major American sports like football or basketball, the broadcasts of which are inundated with ads due to their frequent breaks in play.
In recent history, FIFA has sold TV rights to private, as opposed to public, broadcasters who tend to be financially motivated to screen ads. In line with that trend, FIFA’s decision to open the floodgates for broadcasts to show more commercials could set an undesirable precedent in soccer as fans are forced to adjust to a more “Americanized” viewing of the sport they love.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Ugly Game: FIFA Ripped by Soccer Fans for TV Commercial Move at 2026 World Cup.
