FIFA is planning on kicking off the 2026 World Cup final in the afternoon next year, despite growing concerns about the heat that have popped up during this year’s Club World Cup. 

During an interview with The Athletic, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy indicated that FIFA is eying a 3 p.m. kickoff for the World Cup final on July 19, 2026. 

FIFPRO, the sport’s global players’ union, has already urged FIFA to move away from plans to play games in the midday and afternoon over concerns about the heat, particularly at three stadiums in Kansas City, Miami and Monterrey, Mexico, that were dubbed “extremely high risk.” 

FIFPRO considered MetLife as a “high risk” location, with temps in the New York-New Jersey area reaching into the 90s in recent weeks. 

“Heat has been a concern across the tournament, no question about it,” Murphy told The Athletic. “I think we’ve managed it very well in New Jersey. … It goes with the territory if you’re in North America in early to mid-summer, playing a lot of late afternoon [and] early evening matches. It’s a factor, but I’m highly confident we’ll find our way through this.”

This weekend’s Club World Cup quarterfinals matches and next week’s semifinals and final matches will all be a preview of how things will feel next summer when one of the world’s biggest sporting events comes to North America. 

Temps are expected to hit a high of 85 degrees on Saturday in New Jersey when MetLife Stadium hosts a quarterfinal match between Real Madrid and Dortmund. 

Looking ahead to next summer, FIFPRO general secretary Alex Phillips told reporters he was expecting FIFA to be “more flexible” with certain things, but noted that the players’ union could only do so much. 

“We can only use informal pressure and good argumentation. We don’t really have any coercive right,” Phillips said. 

“FIFA have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the [Club World Cup] matches, based on the FIFPRO outfit. Obviously it would have been if that had happened in advance, but it’s better than they have adapted and they’ve put in place various different mitigation measures. There’s additional water around the pitch, towels and so on.”