THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: All this to help grow the game of soccer

Take this as a fact.

By the time we see the next World Cup, soccer matches are certain to be slightly different animals.

Games will have four quarters instead of two halves, a dramatic change that already has most of the world howling in protest.

The extra breaks have been shoved into permanent play by FIFA, which runs all world soccer tournaments — and sets the rules.

(Sorry, I'd write out the organization's name, but it's in French, so let's just roll with the initials.)

Anyway, FIFA changed sport times four years ago, when the World Cup was in Qatar.

The tiny Arab kingdom basically "bought" the tournament, putting FIFA in a position where it had to do something about the heat (Qatar is just a couple degrees short of the sun).

The major change involved moving the Cup to winter, making a mess of all regular country and region leagues, but FIFA also added "hydration breaks" during play to keep players alive.

They introduced two breaks, one per each half.

There wasn't much fuss at the time, since players were damn glad to get some water and rest in the middle of each half.

FIFA claimed the breaks were solely for the health of the players, and it was hard to argue with matches played in broiling Qatar.

NOW WE get to World Cup 2026, which is not in Qatar, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan or Kuwait.

The event is being hosted right here in the United States, along with a few matches scheduled for Mexico and Canada.

There's been some heat — surprise, it's short-sleeve weather every summer in Atlanta and Houston — but nothing beyond what you'd expect for the host cities.

Also: Nothing beyond the warmth of July in Europe or South America, where FIFA has placed previous World Cups.

OK, so the tournament features four-quarter games this summer.

No big deal, right?

"It wouldn't be," said Matt Kandela, a London radio host with ties to various soccer organizations, "except that nothing will be going backwards.

"Football (soccer) is going to have four quarters, permanently, and it will change the structure and tactics of the whole sport.

"We've already seen coaches use these so-called water breaks as time outs to work with their players."

Kandela and endless other media and public figures scoff at the notion that players at every level are desperate for water every 22 1/2 minutes.

"Let's be serious," Kandela said. "This is about money.

"Do you think advertisers and big media operations are going to turn down a chance to pocket extra profit."

We know the answer to that one, but there's actually another question.

"If this were about money, sponsors would have asked to do it before now," said FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. "That's what makes it obvious that our first priority is the health of the athletes.

"We don't make one dollar off these breaks."

Ahhhhh ...

That's word play.

Maybe FIFA itself doesn't cash in, but plenty of its sponsors do just fine.

WELL, WE actually can turn the profit angle into a question, as Infantino suggested.

Why are big-money sponsors so interested in the World Cup now, when you could buy it as a mid-tier package for several years?

Four-word answer.

United States of America.

Infantino and his FIFA suits are thrilled to have the World Cup here — not just for one year, but for the long term.

It's no secret that the U.S. has buckets of money to spend on the World Cup.

We have more cities and venues hungry for events like this than we actually have seats to fill.

One of Kandela's podcast partners, Pete Wood, talks about this U.S. puzzle every day.

Wood is originally from Essex, but he's moved to the States and works on marketing Major League Soccer. He understands what's there to sell.

"Think about all the new teams in MLS," Wood said. "For a long time, it was a niche league, but now there's soccer on TV somewhere 24 hour per day.

"It's a big deal to somebody."

FIFA denies it all.

Infantino, who somehow created the "FIFA World Peace Award" and decided that Donald Trump should be the first recipient, digs in his heels on the matter of fat-cat biz in the United States.

He's just a humble executive who wants to help soccer.

Gianni simply loves the game.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On."