Summer Football in the UAE
It is hot. It is humid. The football does not have to stop.
Between May and September, Sharjah's daytime temperatures regularly exceed 42°C with humidity peaking near 90%. Outdoor football before sunset is genuinely unsafe — heat exhaustion and cramping injuries spike in May. Here is how our group keeps the matches running through summer, and how you should approach your own training and play.
Rule 1 — push everything to late evening
From mid-May we push all outdoor matches to 9:30 PM at the earliest. Many slots run at 10:30 or 11 PM. The pitches are cooler, the surfaces are safer, and recovery is faster.
Rule 2 — indoor air-cooled pitches
Sharjah now has several indoor air-cooled 5-a-side venues. We add 1–2 indoor slots per week from June through August. They cost slightly more but are the safest way to play through the worst of the summer.
Rule 3 — hydration is the whole game
Drink 500 ml in the hour before kick-off, sip continuously during the match, and finish with 750 ml plus an electrolyte sachet. If you are urinating clear and pale yellow after the match, you have got it right. If it is dark, you are dehydrated and your next match should wait.
Rule 4 — listen to your body
Cramps, dizziness, headaches, or nausea during a match — stop immediately. Sit in shade. Sip water. Never push through heat illness. The pitch will be there tomorrow.
Rule 5 — adjust your training
Strength and mobility work moves indoors in summer. Outdoor running drops to 60% of winter volume. Most of our regular players treat summer as a maintenance season and ramp back up in October when the weather flips.
What to wear
- Light-coloured technical fabric — avoid cotton
- Cap or headband to keep sweat out of your eyes
- Compression sleeves only if you genuinely need them — they trap heat
- Two t-shirts: one for the warm-up, one for the match
The bottom line
You can absolutely keep playing football in Sharjah through summer if you respect the heat. Our schedule adapts; our players adapt; the matches keep going. Join the WhatsApp group and you will see the summer poster next time.