There was immense speculation last week about the impact on sporting performance from competing at altitude, as England’s football team faced Mexico at the Azteca Stadium while the day before the country’s rugby team took on the Springbok’s at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
Playing international sport at altitude has always been considered a huge factor, that impacts players and provides a major advantage to the home players who are acclimatised to the conditions.
And both venues very much fall into the category of high altitude. Ellis Park is 1,753 metres above sea level – to put into context that is more than 400m higher than Ben Nevis. The Estadio Azteca is even higher, sitting at 2,240m.
In the build up to the matches, there were reams of speculation and scientific input into the effect that playing at altitude has on those not acclimatised. In simple terms, at altitude the air pressure drops, causing less oxygen to enter your bloodstream, leading to a higher breathing rate, elevated heart rate and symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and nausea. Most experts agree on a 15% decrease in physical performance.
The thinner air also impacts the playing of ball sports in particular, with kicks in rugby games travelling further and shots in football travelling faster, making non-acclimatised teams having to cope with different positioning while anticipating the flight of the ball.
The easiest way to access the impact that altitude has is to look at past results. During the early 2010s Bolivia’s international team fell to 115 in FIFA rankings, so they built a completely unnecessary stadium at a staggering 4,088m, and made it the national stadium (despite being smaller than the existing one). During qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Boliva (now ranked 77th in the world), played 9 matches at home, winning 5, drawing 2 and losing 2. However, they only won 1 match playing away from home and failed to qualify.
Mexico’s record in competitive matches at the Azteca since it opened in 1966 is 2 losses in 89 games – mighty impressive for a mid-level international team whose star player earns his living in the Championship. Equally, South Africa’s Springboks have recorded significantly more wins at their altitude stadiums in Johannesburg and Pretoria than their sea level venues in Cape Town and Durban.
Therefore simple science and a brief look at historic results confirm that playing at altitude is different and favours the home side. There are two schools of thought regarding the best way for away teams to counter the effect of altitude. Either arrive early enough to have the time to acclimatise – or arrive as close to kick-off time as possible to reduce the effects.
The England rugby team arrived in Johannesburg 10 days before their match, aiming to acclimatise early. Their efforts were boosted by the use of portable hypoxic generators which restrict the oxygen available to the players when they train on watt bikes, trying to get the body used to the low oxygen input. Combined with training sessions at altitude and 10 nights of sleep, this was felt to be the best preparation available.
Unfortunately for the football team, the tight World Cup schedule meant arriving that early was impossible. They flew into Mexico City 48 hours before the match – in many people’s opinion the worst possible scenario. With Mexican fans surrounding their hotel and letting fireworks off in the middle of the night in a bid to further disrupt sleep patterns, England could not have had a more difficult situation to deal with, but they came through an intimidating atmosphere to put in a superb performance to triumph 3-2 and head to the quarter finals.
By contrast, England rugby fell to a dispiriting defeat, losing heavily to a Springbok side at the start of its season, and looking like a side that was not sure what to do. Losing 45-21 against a rival is a walloping at Test level and was yet another backward step for Steve Borthwick’s side.
Was the impact of playing at altitude as big a deal as everyone thought? The England footballers put in a courageous effort to beat Mexico, with several players mentioning they didn’t really notice the reduction in oxygen. Many would argue that the additional physicality of rugby makes the impact more intense for egg chasers, but before reaching for excuses the England players will have been aware that a highly unfancied Australian team visited Ellis Park last year and beat the Boks handsomely.
There is no doubt that playing international sport at altitude is a drawback if players are not acclimatised, and makes life difficult – but fully motivated teams can overcome it.
Fortunately for England’s footballers their next match versus Norway is in Miami, at sea level, meaning altitude will not be a factor. Who knows, if they continue with the right attitude, it just may be coming home!
David Little is a Partner at Bishop & Sewell in our expert Sports Law and Corporate & Commercial
If you would like to contact him, please call on either 07968 027343 or 020 7631 4141 or email: company@
The above is accurate as at 8 July 2026.
The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
