Air sampling in team congregate spaces for early detection of respiratory virus threats at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™
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Background
Respiratory infections are the leading cause of illness at major sporting events, yet surveillance relies on athletes recognising and reporting symptoms, missing asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic and unreported infections. During competitions, teams are housed together and share spaces with members of the broader community.
Aim
To evaluate whether continuous air sampling with point-of-care testing could detect respiratory-virus nucleic acids in an elite team’s congregate spaces during competition, and whether the signals were operationally useful.
Methods
Prospective, descriptive environmental-surveillance study following the Canadian men’s national soccer team across five host cities during the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ (3 June to 4 July 2026). InBio Apollo bioaerosol samplers ran continuously in up to four team-designated rooms per hotel (physiotherapy, meal, equipment and coaches’ room or hallway); filters were changed approximately twice daily, eluted on-site and tested with the Cepheid Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus assay. A sample was considered positive if any cycle-threshold (Ct) value was reported, as less than 45, for a target.
Results
Of 174 air filters, 13 yielded detections of viral genetic material (9 SARS-CoV-2, 3 influenza A virus, 1 influenza B virus, 0 RSV). Detections were sparse early and clustered late in the tournament. An influenza A signal appeared the morning a player was sent home febrile, and SARS-CoV-2 signals coincided with visibly ill hotel staff, with signals falling after ill staff were excluded.
Conclusion
Air sampling with point-of-care testing is feasible in the context of an elite team and can surface behavior-independent viral signals during competition that may offer opportunities for earlier precautionary actions.
Key public health message
What did you want to address in this study and why?
Respiratory infections are the most common illness at major sporting events, but they are usually found only when someone notices symptoms and reports them. That misses infections in people who feel well or who choose not to say anything. We hypothesized that sampling and quickly testing the air of the shared rooms a national team occupies in a hotel would identify respiratory viruses, and that this could provide a behaviour-independent tool for improving elite athlete health.
What have we learnt from this study?
Air sampling with same-day testing worked in practice across five host cities and a month of competition. Most samples were negative, but viral genetic material was found in team rooms in every city. Some signals coincided with a febrile player and visibly unwell hotel staff.
What are the implications of your findings for public health?
Air sampling is a practical way to watch a shared indoor space for respiratory viruses without testing individuals or collecting personal data. When viruses are detected in a room, low-cost precautions such as ventilation, air cleaning or excluding unwell staff can be implemented. The same approach could be used for teams, delegations, and other groups housed together at mass gatherings in Europe and elsewhere.
