At this year's World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, a 3-minute mandatory break has been introduced in the 22nd minute of each half. According to FIFA's official statement, this is intended for players to restore their water balance in hot weather conditions.
Modern.az reports that football experts claim the real reason for this is television advertisements and the desire to earn more money. These breaks are applied even in enclosed arenas with high-level climate control systems. In total, 624 minutes will be spent on "water breaks" throughout the World Cup, which is equivalent to the time of 7 games.
France national team head coach Didier Deschamps strongly protested this decision: "This interferes with the game. But television companies are happy, aren't they?!"
On the US channel "Fox", the price of a 30-second advertisement during such a break in the group stage reaches 750 thousand dollars. In the play-off stage, prices will increase even further. Even according to the lowest estimates, "Fox" will earn approximately 300 million dollars from advertising thanks to these breaks, which constitutes 60% of the value of the World Cup broadcasting rights.
These breaks also directly affect the course of the game: for example, Brazil used this break to avoid defeat in the match against Morocco, and Germany was able to rebuild its tactics during the break after conceding a goal in the match against Curaçao.
