By Michael Place
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's football players' association Fenapaf is to launch legal action against FIFA in a bid to shift lunchtime kickoffs during the World Cup.
In a statement released on Saturday, Fenapaf said a request for a court injunction would be submitted in Sao Paulo on Monday.
The action demands that each of the tournament's 24 games scheduled for 1pm be shifted to 5pm. "We have reached the conclusion that matches played between 1pm and 3pm in the north, northeast and central-west regions are a concern because they could affect players' health," Fenapaf's president Rinaldo Martorelli said in the statement. The entity will also request a mandatory drinks break midway through each half. Currently any break in play will be at the discretion of the match referee.
According to Fenapaf, the action follows a study of players' body temperatures in the World Cup host cities of Brasilia, Manaus, Fortaleza and Sao Paulo conducted last June and July. "The temperature of some of the players exceeded 40 degrees Celsius," researcher Turibio Leite Barros said. "Any doctor will tell you that this presents an imminent risk."
The World Cup will be staged in 12 Brazilian cities from June 12 to July 13.
The Amazonian city of Manaus has the highest average temperature in the period - 31 degrees celsius - followed by Cuiaba (30.7 degrees), Fortaleza (29.3 degrees), Natal (29 degrees) and Recife (28.8 degrees).
FIFA did not immediately comment on the matter.
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