FIFA has moved to calm a brewing controversy over its hydration policy at the 2026 World Cup, announcing that fans attending matches across Canada, the United States, and Mexico will be permitted to carry a single factory-sealed, disposable plastic water bottle of up to 20 ounces (590 millilitres) into stadiums. The clarification comes after widespread public anger and official condemnation from host cities over what many viewed as an opaque and potentially dangerous restriction.
Heimo Schirgi, the World Cup’s chief operating officer, posted a video to social media spelling out the updated guidance. While the announcement offered some relief to fans worried about sweltering summer heat, it fell short of satisfying environmental groups and city officials who had pushed for reusable alternatives.
The controversy began when FIFA’s own stadium entry rules seemed to greenlight transparent, reusable bottles of up to one litre only for a follow-up document to pull the rug out from under fans with a terse phrase: “for the avoidance of doubt,” reusable bottles would not be permitted. Hard-sided containers remain banned outright, with FIFA citing safety concerns for players and crowds alike. The back-and-forth left fans and host city officials deeply confused, and more than a little frustrated.
Sharon Bollenbach, the City of Toronto’s FIFA World Cup executive director, admitted she had no clear answer on why the rules shifted. “I can’t speak to the decision there,” she told reporters. “Obviously, I think safety was a factor.” Don Hardman, Canada’s executive director of stadium and venue management, acknowledged that water refill options are still being worked out officials are “fine-tuning” the logistics at venues, including Toronto Stadium.
The sharpest criticism has come from Toronto’s own public health team. Dr. Michelle Murti, the city’s chief medical officer of health, spoke plainly at a news conference Friday: if a heat alert coincides with a match day and fans cannot bring in their own water, the consequences could be serious. “Certainly, if there was a heat alert day on a game day, and people didn’t have access to water, we are concerned about the potential for heat impacts,” she said, adding that the city had formally communicated those concerns to the FIFA organising committee.
It is not a hypothetical worry. With temperatures expected to climb into the 30s Celsius across many of the 104 host cities this summer, dehydration and heat exhaustion are real risks for fans queuing outdoors and packed into stands. FIFA says it will deploy misting stations, cooling tents, handheld fans, and hydration points around stadium perimeters as part of its heat mitigation plan and that water bottle pricing inside venues “will remain consistent with other events” at each stadium.
Beyond the health debate, environmental advocates are sounding the alarm on what the policy means for waste. Toronto Environmental Alliance warned that restricting reusable containers would significantly worsen the mountains of single-use plastic garbage already anticipated at a tournament of this scale while simultaneously forcing fans to spend more at concessions. Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow was more blunt, calling the ban “greedy and unreasonable” in a social media post and insisting access to drinking water ought to be a basic right at any public event in the city.
Worth noting: BMO Field now rebranded Toronto Stadium for the tournament after extensive upgrades normally welcomes empty, non-glass water bottles. The venue’s concourse is lined with drinking fountains for fans to refill freely, according to its website. Under FIFA’s tournament rules, those fountains will be there, but your reusable bottle won’t be.
Toronto Stadium is expected to sell out its capacity of more than 45,000 for Canada’s opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 12 the first FIFA World Cup game ever played on Canadian soil. The city is set to host six games in all, with Vancouver holding seven. Whether FIFA’s hydration plan holds up under real summer conditions and real crowds remains to be seen. For now, fans heading to the stands are advised to arrive with one sealed bottle and hope the thermometer stays kind.
