Several matches in Florida have already been interrupted or postponed due to weather conditions, and the round of 16 match of the Club World Cup in the USA between Benfica and Chelsea, scheduled for Saturday, is also in doubt, sportal.bg reported.
The match is scheduled for 4:00 PM local time (11:00 PM Bulgarian time), with showers and thunderstorms expected from 2:00 PM, which is the main cause for concern. The protocol requires that sporting events, as well as others, be interrupted in such conditions, that everyone take shelter in a safe place and after each lightning strike, wait 30 minutes to reassess the situation. In theory, the match could be postponed multiple times by 30 minutes, even until midnight. This scenario is unlikely - if the match is not held for a long time, it will most likely be postponed to the next day.
The match between Benfica and Oakland (6-0) in the group stage of the Club World Cup in Orlando was interrupted for two hours until it was declared safe for fans and players to return to the stands and the field to resume play. There were other matches that were also stopped due to bad weather conditions in the United States.
Extreme heat will also be a problem. For the time of the match on Saturday at the "Bank of America" stadium with a capacity of 75,000 spectators, temperatures are expected to be around 34 degrees and humidity close to 80%, which will increase the perceived temperature to 36/38 degrees.