BANK OF AMERICA STADIUM, CHARLOTTE — The match between Chelsea and Benfica in the Round of 16 at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup appeared to be almost at its conclusion.
A free-kick goal from Reece James had the Premier League side 1-0 up with time ticking down. It didn’t seem as if Benfica were mustering much of a comeback, and they were running out of opportunities.
Then, in the 87th minute, a weather system moved into the area and halted the match.
The Sporting News has the latest on the weather delay at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte as the sides wait around hoping to resume the match soon.
Chelsea v Benfica at the FIFA Club World Cup is now approaching 3hr 30mins since kickoff – giving it a similar runtime to Ben-Hur (1958, 212mins) and Lawrence of Arabia (1963, 216 mins). Wimbledon finals have been wrapped up in much less time pic.twitter.com/YgCKfn5pHn
— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) June 28, 2025
MORE: A summary of the wackiest games of the Club World Cup as Chelsea top Benfica 4-1 in Charlotte
Why was the Chelsea vs. Benfica match delayed?
A storm system in the vicinity of Bank of America Stadium caused the match to be delayed.
As the stadium public address announcer instructed the fans to leave their seats and take cover under the concourse, the referee halted the match and told the players to leave the pitch.
Because the venue is open-air, the danger posed by lightning is significant and FIFA is taking extra precautions.
Meanwhile, in the dressing room. pic.twitter.com/UZPsVkNvHr
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 28, 2025
When will the Chelsea vs. Benfica match resume?
7:47 p.m. ET: We’re back under way! The official time of the delay is 1 hour, 53 minutes. The time on the game clock reads 86:01.
7:44 p.m. ET: Players have returned to the pitch for a warmup, and now fans are being allowed back into the seats. There’s quite a lot of fans still here, well done to those who stayed!
Players out after 1hr 45 minutes delay. Fans coming back in. Impressive number have stayed on given how long they’ve been waiting. pic.twitter.com/qno5jTrPdV
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) June 28, 2025
7:38 p.m. ET: The match is set to resume imminently. There is a weather system coming up from the south which threatens further delays, so FIFA has requested the teams retake the pitch soon to get the match going quickly and hope to finish.
The players have agreed to a shortened 7-minute warmup to try and squeeze the game in before that new system arrives.
#ChelseaFC vs. Benfica update:
So…it’s cleared out right now, but there’s a weather system coming up from the south. We might have a SMALL window to finish this match before it becomes an issue again.
Sounds like they may be trying to get this going ASAP… pic.twitter.com/UjKAXyxcnv
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) June 28, 2025
7:20 p.m. ET: The discourse around weather delays at the Club World Cup is beginning to churn, as this is now the fourth weather delay of the competition and we’ve only just begun the knockout stage. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s plane has been halted on the tarmac in Miami as they are also dealing with a weather system in the area.
7:00 p.m. ET: After a walk through the concourses, it appears a significant amount of fans have stayed at the venue and are waiting for the restart of the match. It’s quite surprising, honestly, given how little actual game time remains in the match. Fair play to the fans here in Charlotte!
6:22 p.m. ET: There has been another lightning strike, and the clock has restarted. We continue to wait, and the restart has once again been pushed back.
6:15 p.m. ET: There is some hope of a restart soon, as we’ve almost reached the 30-minute threshold for returning to the pitch. Players could make their way back onto the pitch at 6:25, with a restart at 6:45.
5:54 p.m. ET: The delay has begun, as the referee takes the players off the pitch and sends the fans to take cover in the concourses.
What are the weather delay rules at the FIFA Club World Cup?
FIFA rules state that the players cannot return to the pitch until there are 30 minutes without a lightning strike within a 10-mile radius of the stadium.
Each time a lightning strike inside that radius is logged, the timer resets.
Then, the players will need 15 minutes to warm up so they can return to the pitch in a safe manner, as returning to high-level play at the end of a one-goal match would be asking for injuries.
