FIFA World Cup official Adam Nunn acclimatises for US and Mexico heat and humidity with help from Team Bath Sport Science Centre
World Cup official Adam Nunn has once again been preparing for the high temperatures and humidity he will experience in the United States and Mexico over the next month by undertaking heat training sessions at the University of Bath.
The Premier League and FIFA assistant referee, from Trowbridge, has been doing exercise and recovery sessions at the Team Bath Physio & Sports Science Centre in a plastic indoor chamber heated to more than 30 degrees Celcius.
The acclimatisation sessions, overseen by Team Bath Applied Sports Scientist Jonathan Robinson, served Nunn well for both the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which also took place in the United States.
Nunn, who officiates alongside fellow assistant Gary Beswick and referee Anthony Taylor, will run the line for the first time at the 2026 FIFA World Cup during the Group K match between Uzbekistan and Colombia in Mexico City’s legendary Azteca Stadium on Thursday 18th June (3am BST).
Ahead of last year’s Club World Cup, Nunn explained: “I have weekly strength and conditioning sessions at the Sports Training Village throughout the Premier League season but in preparation for specific tournaments, I do a set of heat chamber sessions which help me acclimatise to the heat we’re expecting to face.
“People think that heat acclimatisation is about preparing for the physical demands of matches in those conditions but it is the mental demands too. We are making big decisions under pressure and if you add heat to that it can become a lot more difficult, so the more used to those conditions we are the better prepared we are all round.
“We talk about elite sport being those one per cent gains, getting that one step ahead, and this has been a big part of that.”
Nunn and Beswick were assistant to Taylor at two games during Qatar 2022 and they also officiated at Euro 2024, the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup final and the 2023 Europa League Final.
To meet the intensity of elite-level football, referees and officials with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) follow training programmes featuring weekly sessions at regional centres around the country. These centres include the University of Bath, where Nunn and fellow officials from the South West do strength and conditioning work with Team Bath Performance Services Manager George Studd.
The heat chambers and other physiological tests at Team Bath, designed to help people measure and maximise their levels of fitness, are all available for public use. Click here to find out more.
