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

Abstract

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.

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