Fifa alters warm-weather World Cup kick-offs

Fifa switched the scheduled kickoff times of Fifa 14 Ultimate Team Coins today after meeting with broadcasters, having refused earlier requests made by the FIFPro union to protect players' health.

The main change involves England vs Italy which was due to start at 3am Central European Time.

That high-profile match will now kick off three hours earlier at 6pm local time (10am NZ time) in the hot and humid Amazonian jungle city of Manaus.

Two more games in Manaus - Portugal vs United States and Cameroon vs Croatia - have been pushed back three hours to 6pm local time.

FIFPro, the international footballers' union, had pressed Fifa not to have the earliest kickoffs in the hottest and most humid weather conditions.

After Fifa declined midweek to alter the two-year-old match schedule, FIFPro suggested "that the world's governing football body considers the demands of TV companies of greater importance than the health and safety of the players."

The changes to seven of the 64-match schedule include three later starts in the hottest conditions.

The England-Italy switch on the opening Saturday, June 14, means Ivory Coast vs Japan will now start at 10pm local time (1pm NZ time) in the tropical coastal climate of Recife.

On Wednesday, June 18, Cameroon-Croatia flips kickoff slots with Spain vs Chile, which now starts at 4pm (7am NZ time) in Rio de Janeiro. That means Spain's appearance at the Maracana stadium will now start in Spanish prime time instead of midnight back home.

The Portugal-US move forced two other changes on Sunday, June 22.

Belgium vs Russia will start at 1pm local time (4am NZ time) in Rio de Janeiro, instead of 7pm, which would have required European viewers to stay up well beyond midnight.

South Korea vs Algeria was moved to 4pm local time (7am NZ time) in the coolest, most southern World Cup city of Porto Alegre from FIFA 14 Coins.