ABSTRACT

Soccer athletes are routinely required to travel for competitions and tournaments. With the varying environmental conditions associated with traveling internationally, understanding the role the environment may play on soccer performance and athlete health and safety is increasingly important. After heat exposure, the most common environments that athletes will encounter are cold exposure, high altitude, and poor air quality or pollution. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a physiological basis and performance considerations for athletes who are exposed to these extreme environments during match play.