"All of that, plus the heat at that time of the year, provided an additional layer of complication when it came to deciding kick-off times. Fifa said that the times chosen for games to begin was done so to "optimise welfare conditions for players and supporters, while enabling the widest possible global audience to follow their teams across different time zones"."
"That means for viewers in Europe, some games will be played from midnight onwards because of the cities they take place in. For example, all five of the group-stage matches in Kansas City will take place in the middle of the night UK time, with the earliest kick-off being 00:00 BST on Friday, 26 June for Tunisia versus Netherlands while the latest there is 03:00 BST for Algeria versus Austria on Sunday, 28 June."
"The San Francisco Bay Area hosts two games that will kick off at 05:00 BST (Austria versus Jordan on Tuesday, 16 June and European Play-Off C winner versus Paraguay on Friday, 19 June). There are also 05:00 BST games in Vancouver (Australia versus European Play-Off C winner on Saturday, 13 June) and Guadalupe, Mexico (Tunisia versus Japan on Saturday, 20 June)."
The 2026 World Cup will be staged across 16 North American cities spanning four time zones and three countries, with host locations up to 2,800 miles apart. Heat and geography added complexity to deciding 13 different kick-off times. FIFA prioritised player and supporter welfare and sought to enable the widest possible global audience. Many fixtures will occur at night UK time, with 35 group-stage matches kicking off between 00:00 and 05:00 BST, almost half of the 72 group games. Kansas City fixtures fall in the middle of the night UK time, while some games in San Francisco, Vancouver and Guadalupe start at 05:00 BST.
Read at www.bbc.com
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