Why is there a World Cup Final halftime show?

[ASFN Admin]

For the first time ever, the halftime break between Argentina and Spain's World Cup Final match on Sunday will actually be a halftime show. A 30-minute show, to be exact. For anyone who regularly watches soccer, this is understandably a dramatic change from the usual match format. A soccer match, after all, is supposed to have limited breaks, and even the one usual halftime break isn't supposed to be this extended.

I guess this should have been expected with the addition of unnecessary "hydration breaks."

But to no one's surprise, the World Cup Final taking place in the United States is making one of the most American/commercialized additions imaginable. The International Football Association Board (IFAB), soccer's lawmakers, is supposed to prevent this sort of change, with halftime breaks technically limited to 15 minutes.

Here is the explicit rule from the IFAB:

Players are entitled to an interval at half-time, not exceeding 15 minutes; a short drinks break (which should not exceed one minute) is permitted at the interval of half-time in extra time. Competition rules must state the duration of the half-time interval and it may be altered only with the referee’s permission.

However, as it stands, FIFA bent a rule to squeeze in a half-hour halftime show intended to be reminiscent of a Super Bowl performance. The governing body filed a petition for a temporary exception to extend halftime, and as a result, we now have a 30-minute break. Of course, broadcast partners like Fox have also cleared a path for this change, working with FIFA to ease this change in.

Welcome to perhaps the most conceivable American World Cup Final.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why is there a World Cup Final halftime show?

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