Posted on 07/17/2026 4:14:59 PM PDT by DFG
FIFA has no plans to move Sunday's World Cup final, even as dangerous smoke from Canadian wildfires leaves a haze over New York City, reports claim.
Spain is due to face Argentina in a blockbuster final at MetLife Stadium and there have been warnings that the combination of heat and 'terrible' air quality constitutes a 'very dangerous and powerful one-two punch to the human body.'
On Thursday, the air quality in New Jersey, site of the stadium, was rated 'unhealthy for sensitive groups' by several air-quality measurement platforms.
According to Bloomberg, FIFA and Andrew Giuliani - who heads of the White House's World Cup Task Force - have been involved in discussions about the wildfires.
But no formal meeting is slated over possibly moving the final, which kicks off at 3pm local time at the 80,000-seater open-air stadium. Another 50,000 fans are expected to watch the game from Central Park.
Earlier this week, some soccer fans were being advised to sell their tickets for the game, while World Cup chiefs faced calls to introduce more hydration breaks on Sunday to keep players safe.
'It not only is going to be terrible, terrible air quality. It's hot, and that can cause an extreme amount of stress on the heart [for players],' said Dr Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and board of directors member at the American Lung Association.
'That is a very powerful and dangerous one-two punch to the human body. It's going to be critical to maintain core body temperatures as low as possible.'
The smoke has already forced an MLS match between the Chicago Fire and the Vancouver Whitecaps to be postponed, while an MLB game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies was brought forward by one hour due to air quality concerns.
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One would think that the players would have a problem with playing while air quality is bad.
AI:
Forcing athletes to perform in hazardous conditions generally falls under the legal category of recklessness, willful and wanton misconduct, or a breach of the duty of care.
Coulda had it in one of the several domed stadiums used for the bracket matches for everyone’s comfort all along but nooooooo.
I’m sure there was some smokey backroom drug deal to have it in nyc.
So dumb to make any games from the quarters onward outside. The England-Finland game was over 100 and 77% humidity. Idiotic. Dallas and Atlanta are great venues.
They've already removed the grass from domed stadiums.
Probably too late to change anything with just days to go
There’s only a few other big stadiums that could host it, and they’re probably already booked
(just think of the ticket nightmares that would happen!!)
They’re predicting AQI of 60 on Sunday.
The panic over the smoke is out of hand. I live in SE Michigan and have been riding my e-bike everywhere (about 70 miles in the last three days). Oh boy it smells like smoke and looks like fog so PANIC!
Humans have many millions of years of evolution adapting to smoke. Fire is the first thing that separated people from animals and an elementary survival adaptation.
I would think athletes will be able to handle it.
I could smell it today with all the windows closed and the AC running, and I’m all the way down in Maryland.
We have a chance of showers/thunderstorms here but I don’t know about New Jersey.
Yeah, that’s bad ... and it’s just FIFA’s bad luck that the smoke couldn’t have started a week later, and that the final *had* to be in NYC, and
(If it was in LA, Dallas, etc, there would be no problem)
They have plenty of world class indoor venues to choose from. Simply play in Atlanta where the last match occurred. Dallas should still have their field intact as does Seattle. Or SOFI stadium.
Nope, Jerry couldn’t wait to remove the cover over the AT&T Logo.
It's actually happening in New Jersey, but tends to get the credit anyway.
No grass.
Maybe Kansas City.
It was around 500 this morning in Dayton, Ohio. My eyes and throat burned from it. I haven’t seen smoke that bad unless the fire is in walking distance.
You just know if people start coughing up a lung they will blame Trump so not sure what should be done
Trump has already suggested that Canada isn’t managing its forest and brush adequately.
Yeah I know but I mean the game itself..do you think it should be rescheduled to another location? Even if its postponed a few days
Well, we know California doesn’t, so it isn’t a stretch to think Canada may be acting similarly.
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