Football is one of the most resilient sports around; it is also one of the most affordable; all you need is a ball and a flat place to play it. From children playing football in a parking lot to the world's biggest football stadiums, everyone can enjoy the sport of kings.
A football game is rarely canceled due to the weather; sometimes it's even more fun to slide in the mud, making sliding more enjoyable. Playing in the rain is fine, and even when it snows, as long as the ball doesn't disappear in a foot of snow, the game goes on.
There is an orange soccer ball for when the cue ball lands, and players are expected to keep playing in the rain. That's not to say that the weather is entirely ignored; there are times when football matches have to be canceled for security reasons.
Sometimes the weather just conspires against us, and today we are going to see why football matches can be canceled due to rain. Unlike FIFA on Xbox or PS5, when mother nature decides a game will be cancelled, the game is cancelled, regardless of the interruption.
Are games canceled due to rain?
Many times during a season football matches can be canceled due to rain, and club location, stadium conditions and time of year can affect chances.
A game usually takes place if the field is unaffected, especially by standing water. If the fans can hack while standing in the stands, the players certainly can.
While it is less common for games to be canceled in the summer, it is not uncommon for a summer storm to have an impact on a field, causing safety issues.
The better the conditions of the field, the better it can withstand the rain. Most elite stadiums have underground drainage to avoid flooding pitches; canceling a game is always the last resort.
In the winter, games are more likely to be canceled due to a frozen field; snow is rarely the culprit, as snow can be cleared from the pitch to allow games to resume.
It's when the ground is so frozen that players, often worth millions of dollars, are at risk of getting injured. Clubs only cancel a game for safety reasons, either for players on the pitch or fans traveling to games.
Location, location, location as they say; there is a considerable difference between the weather conditions in the Kenyan Premier League and the English Premier League. Two inches of rain in
London could be considered alarming, causing security commissioners to worry about the game being cancelled; in Kenya, two inches of rain in an hour can be considered light rain.
A Miami resident might visit Alaska on vacation and be absolutely convinced they're about to freeze to death, while a local would be running from shade to shade worried about sunburn and heatstroke. It's all relative; the more prepared for rain, the less chance of a football game being cancelled.
Safety of Players and Fans
There are three main reasons why rain can cause a football game to be canceled:
- player security
- fan safety
- Protecting the field from further damage
The most important thing is, of course, the safety of players and fans.
Officials will cancel a game if the weather reaches a point where traveling to the game is risky for fans. If the fans are already on their way, or the weather deteriorates just before the start of the game, the referees look at the field.
If drainage is not available, or the rain is torrential, and the field cannot handle it, there is a risk that players will be injured.
Mud sliding can be a lot of fun for a player; they can start to slide early and slide along muddy ground; when in still water, the player can come to a sudden stop when the water stops their movement.
Players are a commodity that clubs do not risk if possible. A broken leg because someone missed a tackle on a waterlogged field is preventable.
National associations like the FA don't like games being canceled as it affects league games. Still, security concerns outweigh the need to reschedule a football match.
When are games cancelled?
Clubs and league organizers constantly communicate with weather monitoring agencies and are always aware of potential weather issues that affect football schedules. If a game appears to be cancelled, it is preferable that it be canceled as soon as possible.
Nothing annoys fans more than paying for tickets, spending time and money traveling to the game, only to find the match postponed.
Unless the weather changes drastically later in the day, most games are canceled the morning of the game to allow fans to cancel their travel plans.
It is not uncommon for games to be canceled mid-game due to rain becoming so heavy that visibility is lost. It's uncommon, but it's been known to happen.
More common is to see a game canceled because the field cannot withstand the sudden flood, making the game dangerous.
Players running towards a ball that suddenly stops when it becomes bogged down in water need to readjust quickly, and players running towards a tackle can make mistakes when their opponent's natural movement suddenly changes.
It's a recipe for a serious accident, and the referee has to make the decision to play or leave the game.
The cost of canceling a game
Aside from the hassle of having to reschedule a game that has been canceled due to rain, often meaning a team has to play two games a week to catch up, the other problem with canceling a game is the cost.
From ticket refunds, the food that was prepared in the hospitality areas being ruined, and the cost of lighting and staffing the stadium, the cost of not playing the match could soon add up.
TV revenue can also be lost if the game is shown live to customers, and there is always a risk that the rescheduled game will not be on TV.
TV revenue is huge for teams, so the loss of revenue is felt deeply. Training schedules are disorganized; the players trained for this game and planned their tactics accordingly. Suddenly their routine is changed and they might not have another game for several days.
Fans are not exempt from costs either; From travel costs to wasted time, fans invest much of their time and income to support their clubs.
It's nobody's fault, of course, the weather can't be controlled, but it's a frustration fans and clubs would rather avoid. That's why canceling a game is a last resort.
Stadium Stewards and Gardeners
Clubs employ many staff on match days, although it is the job of stewards and groundskeepers to keep the crowds and pitch safe.
The caretaker's job is to ensure that the pitch is in perfect condition for matchdays, which means keeping the pitch healthy and ensuring proper drainage.
When the rain seems to threaten a game, the gardener and his team are the first to enter the field. You may have seen teams of officials running large brooms across a waterlogged field in an attempt to sweep water from the top of the field.
If the water can be cleared from the field and the underground drainage is of high quality, it is not impossible that the game can be played.
Conclusion
Football games are rarely canceled due to rain, especially at the highest level; you are much more likely to see a game postponed due to rain at the lower levels of the football pyramid simply due to a lack of facilities.
With improved drainage, stadiums that are more enclosed or have a retractable roof are rarely affected by the weather.
In the United Kingdom, several football stadiums are located near rivers and sometimes flooding due to full rivers has caused matches to be abandoned.
While we can attribute the flooding of the river to excessive rainfall, it is an exaggeration to say that rain was the reason a game was abandoned.
Even when games are canceled due to rain, fans are often much more prepared; 24/7 social media, news outlets and sports channels keep fans updated much better in the XNUMXst century.
Pre-internet fans would have flocked to the stadium to find it had been postponed, so at least with the much more interconnected world of football, surprises are rare.
