{"id":901755,"date":"2022-11-30T11:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T11:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=595479"},"modified":"2022-11-30T11:45:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T11:45:00","slug":"lessons-from-the-world-cup-how-a-changing-climate-is-changing-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/11\/30\/lessons-from-the-world-cup-how-a-changing-climate-is-changing-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from the World Cup: How a changing climate is changing sports"},"content":{"rendered":"
Shortly before the English national team took the field in Qatar for its 2022 World Cup debut, its official Twitter account posted a video<\/a> of players flocking to the sidelines of a training session, dripping in sweat and taking turns cooling down in front of a mist machine. \u201cIt was hard,\u201d English defender Conor Coady told press<\/a> after the practice. \u201cIt was something we needed as a team, to get used to [the heat], to feel it, to understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n World Cups are usually held in early summer, but this year\u2019s competition was delayed because of the Middle East\u2019s searing heat. Even still, outdoor temperatures hovered in the low 90s<\/a> as hopeful teams arrived in Qatar in early November.<\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s decision to hold the event in Qatar has been controversial<\/a>, from the host country\u2019s treatment of migrant workers, thousands of which died of heat stroke<\/a> building hotels and stadiums for the event, to its position on LGBTQ+ rights. The health risks associated with its extreme heat added to these other concerns. <\/p>\n But it is not the only major sporting event grappling with extreme conditions: This fall, the women\u2019s Alpine Ski World Cup was delayed for over a month<\/a> and moved to another venue after unseasonable rain made the course unsafe to ski. Earlier this summer, a historic heat wave required organizers of the Tour du France<\/a> to spray water to keep the roads from melting. <\/p>\n From soccer to skiing, climate change is disrupting how and where sports can be played \u2014 from the most elite levels to neighborhood youth leagues. \u201cIf we do not change the nature of sport and these events to adapt,\u201d said Walker Ross, a lecturer in sports management at the University of Edinburgh, \u201cnature itself will move on without sport.\u201d<\/p>\n