– I was sick and had a sore throat. There was “air conditioning” in the stadium (which did it). It wasn’t just me, but other players have also had coughs and sore throats. Brazil and Manchester United profile Antony told ESPN earlier in the World Cup. He referred to the many valves that pump out cold air to keep the temperatures down when the matches are played in the eight different arenas in the desert country. Antony is not alone in letting himself be influenced by the massive air conditioning units that are available at the World Cup arenas in Qatar. West Ham’s Lucas Paquetá and Liverpool’s Alisson have also been forced to sit out training sessions with Brazil due to illness in the respiratory tract. – The right looks strange According to the major newspaper L’Équipe, the French team doctor Franck Le Gall has asked that the air conditioning be turned off while the French team is training in Qatar. This is because he feared that the players would catch a cold as a result of going in and out of hot and cold areas in Doha. – It sounds strange in itself that we are playing in a stadium with “air conditioning”. It felt like the air was a little damp, something was wrong with the oxygen. When one took a sprint, it was a little more difficult to get one’s breath back than normal, but it is also about the fact that we are playing here (in Qatar), Christian Eriksen told a press conference before Denmark was knocked out of the World Cup. The use of air conditioning in the WC has become a bit of a talking point. Photo: Natacha Pisarenko / AP Before Switzerland played the last match in the group stage against Serbia, a number of players, including the first goalkeeper Yann Sommer, Nico Elvedi and Manuel Akanji, were ruled out with symptoms of a cold. – You have to get used to it and acclimatise, but the temperatures in the stadium are wonderful and pleasant, says Akanji. – Always asking for it to be turned off Netherlands player Wout Weghorst says that the Dutch team is aware of the dangers of staying where air conditioning is used. He says that the quarter-final-ready team has taken steps to reduce the risk of falling ill. – I don’t know if this (the illness) comes because of the stadium. There is air conditioning everywhere, in the hotels, on the buses. We try to avoid that with the team and always ask for it to be turned off, and sometimes one gets hot. If you don’t go from hot to cold and back to hot all the time, Weghorst points out to The Athletic. He also underlines that the use of air conditioning makes it easier for the players during matches. – When you play it actually feels OK. The first two games we were at the stadium the day before, and then you can really feel it. It’s really cold. But during the battles it is a little better. The temperatures are not too low then, says Weghorst. Wout Weghorst is among the players who are taking measures to avoid getting sick from the cold air. Photo: JOHN SIBLEY / Reuters news’s staff in Qatar have also experienced several times themselves that it can get cold in the WC arenas. After the first days in Qatar, several of news’s broadcasters realized that the suitcase probably contained too few warm clothes. Although the temperature gauge shows well over 20 degrees outside, and over 30 when the sun is blazing in the middle of the day, we have been forced to dress well so as not to freeze inside the arenas. If you are unlucky enough to sit on a seat where the “air conditioning” valves are located directly behind, it can simply be quite uncomfortable if you don’t dress well enough. – Madness A viral video from the British boxer Josh Denzel has clearly demonstrated that there can be too much of a good thing. In the clip, he films a sound technician on the inner track who is standing with a hooded sweatshirt on his upper body and his hands in his pockets while he is apparently shivering a little in the cold air. – The use of air conditioning is madness, writes Denzel about the video, which now has close to seven million views. news asked England and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka if he himself had noticed the cold air during the matches he has played in Qatar. – The stadiums have seemed quite cool, so I have certainly noticed it, says Saka to news. – How does it affect you? – It’s easier to play when it’s colder, so that helps me, he underlines. These air holes can be found on all WC tracks in Qatar. Photo: AMR ABDALLAH DALSH / Reuters One thing is that you might freeze a little in the cold air conditioning, but a far more important aspect is how the facility affects the environment. – Sit and freeze for a while at the Khalifa Stadium. Very comfortable 27 degrees outside. The air conditioning is still on full blast. Energy crisis, energy crisis, TV 2 reporter Arilas Ould-Saada wrote on Twitter at the start of the WC. Zeina el-Hajj, daily manager of Greenpeace, has previously stated that such use of air conditioning is anything but environmentally friendly and will only lead to new emissions. The cooling requires enormous amounts of electricity – every single day. – There is a lot of cold blood needed, because it is a big stadium and he is open. It would have been a great environmental advantage if it was powered by solar power. There is no doubt about that. Whether it was too expensive or what, I don’t know. That’s what Petter Nekså, who is chief researcher at SINTEF and an expert on cooling, told news in 2019 when Khalifa Stadium was used for the World Athletics Championships. Today, it is one of eight football stadiums in the World Cup. The players thrive in cool temperatures while they are on the field, but for the supporters it has often been too cold an affair. Photo: MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP – All use of air conditioning is terrible On Fifa’s website they defend the use of air conditioning by using a system that is as environmentally friendly as possible. – All use of air conditioning is terrible for the environment, Time Magazine states in an article about the use of air conditioning in the World Cup country. The renowned magazine also quotes local media as saying that air conditioning accounts for 60-70 percent of Qatar’s total electricity use. Although Qatar has built a new solar power plant which, according to Time, will cover 10 percent of the electricity consumption in the country, the World Cup host still gets most of its energy from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Khaled Diab, who is the communications director for Carbon Market Watch, tells Time that even if the WC country uses an efficient system to cool down the stadium, it requires enormous amounts of energy to be successful. Nevertheless – and unfortunately – he states: – The use of air conditioning in the World Cup will be a drop in the ocean compared to the emissions from the construction industry and the aviation industry.
ttn-69
Do you think these are making WC players sick – now several major teams are taking action – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
