Nearly one in five World Cup matches reached heat levels players’ union warns against

Guardian analysis finds 19% of games reached heat levels warranting delays, as Fifa defends its player safeguards

The climate crisis has come for football.

During this year’s World Cup, nearly one in five of the tournament’s 100-plus matches took place in levels of heat and humidity that a football players’ union has previously said should trigger delays or postponements, a Guardian analysis has found. An additional 23 matches were played in cities as they reached those heat levels, but in stadiums where conditions were mitigated by air conditioning.