Following an outcry over a plan to forbid spectators from carrying water bottles to World Cup games, FIFA has reversed course.
FIFA COO Heimo Schirg announced Friday that fans will be permitted to take a single water bottle into World Cup games hosted in the United States and Canada. A bottle must be factory-sealed, soft and no larger than 20 ounces.
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The FIFA announcement did not address the policy for games scheduled to be played in Mexico. A similar policy is in the works for venues in Mexico, sources familiar with the discussions told Yahoo Sports.
Schirg announced the new policy via a video shared by FIFA clarifying what kind of bottles are and are not permitted:
The announcement reverses a controversial decision that FIFA announced Wednesday, forbidding fans from taking their own water bottles into World Cup stadiums.
That policy cited “safety considerations” and had reversed a prior policy that allowed ticket-holders to carry “empty, transparent, reusable plastic bottles” up to one liter in capacity. The revised policy announced Friday largely reinstates the original policy.
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Temperatures for World Cup games that are scheduled to run from June 11-July 19 in the U.S., Mexico and Canada are expected to soar, and hydration will be imperative for the health and well-being of spectators.
Rescinded ban was criticized as ‘pure money grab’
The previous prohibition of water bottles prompted outcry, including from New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, who described that policy as “concerning” in an interview with The Athletic published earlier Friday.
“It’s concerning,” Mamdani, said. “It’s concerning because the heat we’re talking about is not just heat that the players are playing under. It’s also the heat that spectators are going to be subjected to for arguably a longer period of time, as they will be there before the game starts and after the game finishes.
“And so that is something we are going to follow up on to better understand what the rationale is. Because we don’t want anyone to be skimping on water because of the cost of the water at the stadium if they otherwise would be drinking it. We want to make it easy to have some water.”
Toronto mayor Olivia Chow called the water bottle ban a “pure money grab.“
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Water, of course, was going to be and will remain available for fans to purchase at games. It’s not clear how much venues will charge fans. Now fans will be able to bring their own bottles and presumably refill them from taps inside stadium.
FIFA had previously announced planned hydration and cooling stations “around the stadium footprint.”
“FIFA works closely with each host city committee and local authorities on heat mitigation factors for fans traveling to the stadium, which can include resources such as misting stations, fans, hydration stations, cooling tents and more around the stadium footprint,” a FIFA statement read.
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It’s not clear if dedicated drinking water stations will be made available inside stadiums.
