Unpublished: the 2026 World Cup will have advertising breaks in the middle of the game

Less than 100 days before its start, a new change was announced for the 2026 World Cup, this time related to television broadcasts. FIFA will allow networks to broadcast advertising during matches, taking advantage of the hydration breaks provided at

each time.

According to the American media outlet The Athletic, television stations may temporarily interrupt the match signal to broadcast announcements during these arrests, which the referee usually performs between 25 and 30 minutes in each half.

Hydration breaks, which are increasingly common in international competitions due to high temperatures, will last approximately three minutes and will be mandatory to protect the health of football players. In that period, broadcasters will be able to use the space for advertising, similar to what happens with downtime in sports such as basketball or American football

.

According to the North American website, FIFA leaders held meetings with television executives to coordinate the implementation of the system, which will be added to traditional advertising spaces at halftime, before and after the game.

The initiative is part of a growing trend towards the adaptation of soccer to commercial formats closer to television entertainment, especially in tournaments held in the United States. In recent years, these breaks have already begun to be seen more frequently in different competitions, such as the Club World Cup or the Copa Libertadores

.

This

is not the first time that attempts have been made to incorporate this type of dynamic. FIFA had already experimented with advertising breaks during the 1995 Women's World Cup in Sweden, although the initiative did not prosper at the time. Now, with a demanding schedule and high temperatures expected for the North American summer, the organization will try again in the most important tournament in

football.