This is here to stay
The announcement of the hydration break was met with a lot of boos, and fans thought that it would slow the game down.
To some extent, it has taken away from the full game experience, but in some cases, the hydration breaks have been a marketing tool to boost revenue and increase sponsorships in football.
The same ideology has been used in basketball for a long time, where teams can have a timeout to take a minute break whilst the networks run ads for a minute. This method has generated the NBA millions of dollars in revenue and strengthened the financial position of networks.
The hydration break is not a coincidence, as this is a strategic plan from FIFA to generate more revenue. FIFA broke the record for the most revenue generated for a World Cup, and this is mostly due to the hydration breaks.
The commercialisation of the hydration break is a strategic idea which paid off; in the long term it might not work because most football leagues are played throughout autumn to spring, and the conditions are very different where it is cold, and breaks are not needed as players need to carry on playing with rest breaks; otherwise they risk the potential of injuries.
There is no way that UEFA will implement the hydration breaks for the Champions League, and other national football organisations will not adopt this approach, as the recent crisis within FIFA shows that the organisation has not been transparent with its finances.
