Efficacy of the FIFA cooling break heat policy during an intermittent treadmill football simulation in hot conditions in trained females

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the efficacy of the current FIFA cooling break heat policy against alternative cooling configurations in attenuating physiological strain during a football simulation in the heat.

DESIGN: Five randomised counterbalanced experimental trials in 40 °C and 41 % relative humidity (32 °C wet-bulb globe temperature).

METHODS: Twelve females (age 25 ± 5 y, V̇O 2peak 51 ± 5 mL·kg -1·min -1) completed five 90-min football simulations with different cooling configurations: regular match without cooling breaks (REG), 3-min breaks without cooling (BRK no-cool), 3-min breaks with cooling (BRK cool: current FIFA policy; chilled fluid and ice towel across neck/shoulders), 5-min extended half-time without cooling breaks (ExtHT only), and 5-min extended half-time with 3-min cooling breaks (ExtHT cool). Rectal (T re) and skin temperature (T sk), heart rate, whole-body sweat rate (WBSR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. Data are presented as means and 95 % confidence intervals [CI].

RESULTS: Final T re was lower in ExtHT cool (38.4 °C [38.1, 38.7], P < 0.001) than REG (38.7 °C [38.4, 39.0]), ExtHT only (38.7 °C [38.4, 39.0], P = 0.003) and BRK no-cool (38.7 °C [38.4, 39.0], P = 0.006), whereas it was similar in BRK cool and REG (P = 0.062). Mean heart rate was lower in ExtHT cool than REG (3 beats·min -1 [2, 4], P < 0.001). WBSR was similar across trials (P > 0.133), whilst RPE was lower in ExtHT cool (0.6 [0.3, 0.9], P < 0.001) but not BRK cool (0.2 [-0.0, 0.5], P = 0.089), than REG.

CONCLUSIONS: The FIFA heat policy offers minimal physiological or perceptual benefits to females performing a football simulation in the heat. However, combining the cooling breaks with an extended half-time, which is not currently part of the FIFA heat policy, attenuates thermal and cardiovascular strain.