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Kovac takes stock of the Club World Cup – and makes a clear demand to FIFA

Kovac takes stock of the Club World Cup – and makes a clear demand to FIFA
After BVB exit
Kovac takes stock of the Club World Cup – and makes a clear demand to FIFA

BVB coach Niko Kovac wants FIFA to make adjustments for next year's World Cup in the USA. He didn't like some things about the Club World Cup.

Following Borussia Dortmund's elimination, coach Niko Kovac has expressed fundamental criticism of the Club World Cup in the USA. Kovac called on FIFA, the world football governing body, to consider changes in light of next year's World Cup, which will also be held largely in the United States.

"The tournament certainly still needs adjustments in some areas. A very important point is the kickoff time," said the BVB coach after Dortmund's 2-3 (0-2) quarterfinal loss to Real Madrid on Saturday. "The fact that the players are exposed to the midday sun, where it's so hot that a normal person shouldn't go outside, and the footballers are expected to perform at their best – I think that's very borderline. We have to be careful there," Kovac continued.

"That will certainly happen again at the World Cup next year. But I would like to see some consideration for the players," said the 53-year-old.

Dortmund played twice in Cincinnati in the preliminary round under extremely hot conditions, with temperatures well over 30 degrees Celsius. The match against Mamelodi Sundowns kicked off at 12:00 p.m., and the match against HD Ulsan at 3:00 p.m. Temperatures also rose above 30 degrees Celsius against Real Madrid on Saturday (4:00 p.m., all local time) in East Rutherford, near New York.

Kovac also criticized the pitch, which had a different turf than in Europe, for creating unusual characteristics on the ball. "For high-speed football, you need different conditions."

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