FIFA Club World Cup: Why sniffer dogs are wearing crocs amid extreme heat concerns

• Chelsea players were treated to a rare sight of dogs wearing crocs before their defeat to Flamengo at the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup
• Players have been forced to deal with the adverse weather conditions of thunderstorms and high temperatures in the United States
• The conditions are a worrying foreshadowing of what could happen ahead of the expanded World Cup 2026 in the same location next year

After a dull start, the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States has started to pick up with teams and individuals putting on some mesmerising performances.

The restructuring of the competition to expand it to 32 teams from seven teams was met with much doubt, as concerns over players' welfare were raised.

How much will the winner of Club World Cup get?

FIFA president Gianni Infantino set aside an insane prize kitty to motivate the clubs, with the winner set to walk away with KSh 5 billion.

There have been some cases of fan apathy with some games being played at midday on a workday when most Americans who could have attended are at work.

South Americans impress at Club World Cup

Nonetheless, the tournament has picked up game after game, with South American teams quickly becoming a darling of the neutrals.

The Brazilian and Argentinian teams have delivered a strong statement that the gap between South American and European football isn't as big as initially thought.

Botafogo frustrated and beat new European champions Paris Saint-Germain before Flamengo tore apart the billion-dollar Chelsea squad.

Weather concerns at FIFA Club World Cup

But away from the South Americans shining, the major concern for the organisers and players have been the severe weather conditions they have had to deal with since the tournament started.

At least four games have been delayed or interrupted due to the adverse weather conditions. Mamelodi Sundowns' game against Ulsan was delayed due to the threat of thunderstorms and potential lightning in Orlando.

Apart from the thunderstorms, players have also played under ridiculous heat with temperatures soaring up to 40 degrees Celsius.

"It's impossible, it's terribly hot. My toes were sore, my toenails were hurting, and I couldn't stop and start. It's unbelievable. No European team is used to competing in such high temperatures," said Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente as quoted by Yahoo Sports.

Why are dogs wearing crocs at FIFA Club World Cup?

It is for this reason that sniffer dogs providing security at the month-long tournament were surprisingly spotted wearing crocs.

As the Sun reports, the crocs were to protect the dogs from the red-hot pavements as they went about their business.

This was witnessed before Chelsea's game against Flamengo on Friday in Philadelphia.

Will it be any different at World Cup 2026?

No. A study in The International Journal of Biometeorology has warned FIFA to have more cooling breaks and have very late kick-off times during next year's World Cup in America, Mexico and Canada.

“Teams at the 2026 men’s FIFA World Cup will face heat stress beyond recognised thresholds, especially during afternoon kick-offs. Organisers need to consider bringing in effective heat management strategies to reduce the negative impact of heat stress on players' health and performance," said Dr Oliver Gibson.

They should also consider scheduling fixtures outside the times of day where heat stress is greatest and introduce cooling breaks during fixtures played in temperature extremes."

FIFA trials new technologies at Club World Cup

In a related report, FIFA is testing five new rules and innovations at the Club World Cup.

A major change involves referees wearing body cameras, with their footage being included in the live broadcast.

The tournament will also feature the use of semi-automated offside technology.