World Cup Challenges Are Not New: Increasing Complexity and the Evolution of Preparation Across 48 Years of FIFA World Cups

Sports Medicine 2026 Open access

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Authors: Alan McCall, Guilherme Passos-Ramos, Gary Lewin, Zoran Bahtijarević, Oscar Luis Celada, Nicklas Dietrich, Les Gelis, Ricard Pruna, Gregory Dupont
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-026-02466-9
Cited by: 1
References: 10

Abstract

“My biggest environmental challenge … was actually at a U20 World Cup in Nigeria in 1999. Our team was based near the Sahara desert, close to 40+ degrees Celsius … there were strong winds and sand coming in from the Sahara, razor sharp like sandpaper”.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Sports Analytics and Performance Doping in Sports Sports Performance and Training

Publication details

Journal / source
Sports Medicine
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
56
Issue
6
Pages
1309–1313
Publication date
1 June 2026
Language
EN