Why the World Cup half-time show may be a taste of things to come

But British football content creator Ellis Platten is “not a fan” of some of the initiatives at this year’s World Cup, including the half-time show or liquid breaks.

Water breaks occur 22 minutes into each half and are used to show advertising on some US networks.

“I understand it’s the World Cup final, but it’s already the most watched event in the world and I don’t think you need to add those things to it,” he says.

“As a football fan in a stadium, people get pretty restless after half-time.”

Platten, 28, had been traveling around the host countries to watch World Cup matches last month.

He says he was “wondering how the halftime show would affect the game overall.”

Ifab has previously rejected proposals to extend football halves by more than 15 minutes, citing concerns about players’ welfare and the potential for injury after long periods of inactivity.

“You almost have to make subs at half time because of the welfare of the players,” says Platten.

He adds: “They don’t think about it, they just think ‘We can get Justin Bieber on stage’ but Messi is in the World Cup final; I think he’s a bit more important.”

Glover agrees, saying he’s “not sure football needs a halftime show.”

“This year’s World Cup feels very American, I watch the news in the US and there’s so much advertising they barely do any analysis,” he says.