The 32 teams participating in the World Cup from June 11 to July 11 will be faced with tactical decisions about altitude as well as soccer. Matches at seven of the ten stadiums in South Africa will be played at elevations ranging from 2,165 feet in the agricultural hub of Nelspruit to higher than a mile in Johannesburg. Hence acclimatisation is very important.
The NY Times reported this,
The United States team will arrive at its base camp, at about 4,755 feet, or 1,450 meters, between Johannesburg and Pretoria. The Americans will have nearly two weeks to adjust to the altitude — the minimum period required for effective acclimating, said Randy Wilber, a senior physiologist with the U.S.O.C. and an altitude expert who is advising the team.
In a soccer match, players can run from six to eight and a half miles. The effects of altitude lead to faster heart rates, less oxygen in the bloodstream and reduced power. An athlete participating in the United States-England match without first adjusting to altitude could experience a reduction of performance of 10 percent, according to the London Altitude Centre.
Arriving in South Africa early should allow a player to perform more efficiently in thinner air as the body begins to produce more oxygen-carrying red blood cells and as changes occur in respiratory capacity, Wilber said.
