Lee James

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392 appearances 3 recordings 1 series first heard Feb 2026 last heard 27 Jun

Lee James’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 3 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 2.

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Global News Podcast · Bonus: Are the World Cup's hydration breaks here to stay? · 27 Jun 2026 podcast

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

Hello, I'm Alex Ritson from the Global News Podcast.

As the World Cup reaches its knockout stage, we thought you'd enjoy hearing from another BBC World Service podcast more than the score.

They're telling the stories of teams, trends and fandoms changing the game in the way the stats don't show.

And in this episode, they examine one of this year's most controversial developments, the introduction of mandatory hydration breaks.

You can listen to the whole episode right here.

I hope you enjoy it.

Hello, I'm Lee James, and this is More Than The Score, the BBC World Service podcast that's looking at the stories beyond the scorelines at the FIFA Men's World Cup.

FIFA has introduced mandatory hydration breaks for this World Cup.

They've essentially split the games into four quarters.

So who's benefiting more, the players or the broadcasters?

Well, it has become a familiar scene during this World Cup.

The referee blows the whistle to stop the game, 22 minutes into each half to allow players to rehydrate.

These mandatory three-minute drinks breaks at all 104 games have been introduced to help players cope with the stifling heat and humidity levels in Mexico, Canada and the United States.

It allows coaches to make tactical changes and the broadcasters can, and many have, cashed in with lucrative commercial breaks while players halted.

It's become one of the major talking points at this summer's World Cup, attracting criticism from the likes of the Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk and the US head coach Maurizio Pochettino.

I'm in one of the host cities, Toronto, in Canada.

So what do the fans here feel about it?

I went along to the Nathan Phillips Square, a large open plaza in the centre of the city.

It's where there's usually an ice rink.

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