DOHA (Reuters) - Players are at risk of suffering heat stroke and could make poor decisions when playing or training in high temperatures at the World Cup in Qatar, physiologist Mike Tipton told Reuters on Thursday.
With the temperature hovering above 30 degrees Celsius in Doha, Wales rescheduled their training session on Thursday, moving it from the afternoon to evening when the weather is cooler.
Qatar is unusually hot and humid for this time of the year, but the weather is likely to cool down as the Nov 20 - Dec 18 World Cup progresses into late autumn.
This year’s World Cup marks the first time the global showpiece event has been moved from its regular slot of June and July.
“We were sweating just walking around the hotel,” Wales forward Mark Harris told reporters. “We went out for a walk this morning at about 11 and it was very warm.”
According to Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology at Britain’s University of Portsmouth, playing in extreme heat cannot just affect the players’ physiological function but psychological too.
In order to cope with the heat, managers could be forced to change the playing style of their teams, opting to play at a much slower pace, Tipton added.