Fifa expects World Cup final to proceed despite wildfire smoke from Canada

Fifa will not shift Sunday's World Cup final between Spain and Argentina despite wildfire smoke affecting the New York area, with officials expecting air quality to improve before kick-off

By Hadriana Lowenkron and Giles Turner

 

Fifa has no plans to move the World Cup final on Sunday, even as smoke from Canadian wildfires degrades air quality in the New York area, according to people familiar with the matter. 

There have been informal discussions about the wildfire situation including Fifa and Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House’s World Cup task force, but no some major formal meeting is on the books about the matter right now, according to a White House official. 

 

The game featuring Spain and Argentina will kick off at 3 pm at the 80,000-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.  Staff from the National Weather Service has been stationed at the Fifa command centre in Miami throughout the tournament and will continue to monitor the weather, an NWS spokesperson said.

 

 

While smoke in New York City will likely get worse on Saturday, most of that will clear by Sunday, said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Centre.

 

“Sunday will not be terrible for the World Cup,” Oravec said. “Everything we see is that the smoke will be clearing on Sunday.”

 

Hotter and drier conditions fueled by climate change have caused hundreds of wildfires in Canada to send dangerous smoke plumes across the continent.

 

Poor air quality has already disrupted professional sports, resulting in the postponement of a Thursday MLS match in Chicago and leading officials to move an MLB game in Philadelphia forward by one hour.

 

Air quality alerts have been issued in major US population centres, with the US Environmental Protection Agency labeling readings in cities such as Detroit and Minneapolis as “hazardous.”

 

Fifa previously monitored air quality at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, deploying a network of solar-powered sensors and air quality monitoring stations across all eight stadiums being used.