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Much has already been written about the lucrative nature of FIFA’s mandated hydration breaks during the 2026 World Cup. Broadcasters like Fox cashed in in a big way, and the mid-half stoppages will certainly be a key point of discussion when FIFA brings its broadcast rights for the 2030 and 2034 tournaments to market in the coming months.
Less, however, has been said about the potential competitive benefits to hydration breaks in soccer. For the first time this summer, coaches and players were able to collect themselves mid-half to go over strategy and alter tactics to better matchup with an opponent.
Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks is an advocate for keeping these breaks for those reasons. In an interview with Variety, he explained why.
“I think I [sic] has made the games more close,” he told the outlet, noting that the 2026 World Cup had fewer “blowouts,” which is particularly impressive considering it was the first time the field had been expanded to 48 teams. “It makes a difference for players to be able to collect their thoughts. …It has probably been a positive for the game,” Shanks said.
Plenty of sports have made changes that help make the product more entertaining, and if hydration breaks truly help competitive balance in soccer, it’s no surprise that television networks would advocate for their inclusion. But soccer is a sport steeped in history and tradition, and introducing a mandatory stoppage in each half that ultimately amounts to a strategic reset will be met with resistance by traditionalists.
That’s not to say it can’t be done. The sport has changed its substitution rules in recent years to allow for more players off the bench, and the entertainment product is better for it. But hydration breaks will be an uphill battle. They cut at the very fabric of soccer as a sport that is played continuously in two, 45-minute halves.
But there’s something to be said for introducing more strategy to the game through a better ability to adjust tactics on the fly. For networks, that change would just happen to come with the added benefit of commercial inventory.
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