World Cup ticket holders had previously been permitted an empty, transparent and reusable bottle up to one litre but an update earlier this week confirmed reusable bottles were no longer allowed inside stadiums.
The move was criticised by fan groups, scientific experts and even British Prime Minister Keir Starmer who stated:
“It’s just wrong. And I can’t help but think that it’s about making money.
“So you can’t bring plastic bottles in but you can buy a bottle of water when you get in the crowd? And then it’ll be expensive. The tickets themselves cost a fortune, far too expensive in my view.
“So the ticket sales are too high. And this is the wrong policy.”
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani also spoke on the ban, calling for it to be changed after what was a last minutes decision one week away from the start of the tournament.
“I was just alerted to that (Thursday) morning and it is concerning because the heat that we are talking about is not just the heat that the players are in, it is also the heat that spectators are going to be subjected to for arguably a longer period of time, as they will be there before the game starts and after the game finishes.
“That is something that we are going to follow up (with FIFA) on to better understand the rationale. We don’t (want) anyone skimping on water because of the cost of water at the stadium, if they would otherwise be drinking. You (should) want to make it easier.”
Fifa has now partially backtracked on the decision which is just the latest controversial move from the organisation: “All fans will be permitted to bring in one, soft, plastic, 20 ounces (590ml), factory sealed disposable water bottle into any Fifa World Cup 2026 match in the USA and Canada.”