How hot does it have to be for hydration breaks in the Premier League?

THE Premier League has returned for the 2026/27 season after an exciting summer of World Cup football. One feature from the international tournament in North America was its controversial hydration breaks, but will we see them introduced to England‘s top flight? Holders Arsenal get the 2026/27 Premier League season underway on Friday night as they take on Coventry Credit: Reuters Will the 2026 World Cup’s controversial hydration breaks feature in the 2026/27 Premier League campaign? Credit: PA What are hydration breaks? Hydration breaks were a key talking point at the 2026 World Cup. They were brought in as three-minute pauses that took place at the rough mid-point of each half of a game in order to counteract high temperatures seen at many of the North American stadiums. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! The competition wasn’t the first time we’d seen the pauses, with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar using drinks breaks if the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature exceeded 32C. But for the 2026 tournament, they were enforced as mandatory across all 104 matches, even when being played at stadiums with air conditioning. While UK broadcasters opted for pundit analysis during the extra breaks, many international viewers were made to watch adverts. It was reported that hydration breaks made approximately $1billion (£732million) in global advertising revenue. Hydration breaks were mandatory three-minute pauses in each half of each game at the 2026 World Cup Credit: Getty They could now be coming to the Premier League Credit: Alamy As such, many fans began to speculate that the breaks were mainly implemented for financial reasons, rather than to benefit the players. How hot does it have to be for hydration breaks in the Premier League? With the attention the hydration breaks drew during the World Cup, many fans are now wondering if we’ll start to see them introduced in the English game. Most read in Football Similar breaks have already featured this season, with the pauses being utilised in certain Carabao Cup and EFL matches. But these hydration breaks were only called because they were deemed necessary, with the games in which they appeared being played in temperatures that reached or exceeded 30C. Hydration breaks have already been featured in Carabao Cup and certain EFL fixtures as part of the 2026/27 season Credit: AFP They will likely feature in the Premier League if temperatures reach or exceed 30C Credit: Getty And if temperatures hit that threshold again – as we’ve seen multiple times already this summer – drinks breaks may also be implemented in upcoming Premier League games. Before the final game of the 2025/26 campaign, officials were advised to consider calling for a drinks break if, like we’ve seen this summer, temperatures reached or exceeded 30C. They won’t be a constant presence, particularly as we head towards the cooler temperatures of autumn and winter, and into next spring. But fixtures in earlier Gameweeks, while the weather is still likely to be hot, may be interrupted for hydration breaks. Comment now