World Cup official trains for ‘extreme Qatar temperatures’ at University of Bath

Adam Nunn has been training for the World Cup at Bath University Credit: Team Bath / Bath University

A World Cup referee has been preparing for Qatar temperatures by using a training facility at the University of Bath.

Adam Nunn, the premier league and FIFA assistant referee from Trowbridge has been attending weekly exercise and recovery sessions at the Team Bath Physio and Sports Science Centre.

Training in a plastic indoor chamber heated to more than 30 degrees Celcius, Nunn hopes the sessions will help him acclimatise to the conditions in Qatar.

Nunn hopes the training will help him acclimatise to Qatar conditions quickly Credit: Team Bath / University of Bath

“It’s been fantastic that the University of Bath have allowed me to use the facilities for heat chamber sessions,” said Nunn, who has been working with Team Bath Applied Sports Scientist Jonathan Robinson.

“It’s obviously going to be very warm in Qatar and I’ve had an experience before where I’ve arrived at a tournament in similar conditions, so it’s important to be prepared and in the best possible position to acclimatise.

“I’ve been doing the sessions for six weeks or so, coming in two or three times a week and doing different things each time. It’s been dovetailed with our normal training programme and hopefully will put me in good stead for the World Cup."

The sessions have accompanied Nunn’s regular strength and conditioning sessions at the university.

Over the past couple of years, he has been training through a partnership with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).

To meet the intensity of elite-level football, PGMOL referees and officials follow training programmes featuring weekly sessions at regional centres around the country.

These centres include the University of Bath, where Nunn and fellow officials from the South West have been working with Team Bath strength and conditioning coach Ricky Massiah.

“The sessions have been a huge benefit to us,” said Nunn. “Having someone like Ricky there to show what you are doing right and wrong, and give you guidance is invaluable and something you don’t get in your own gym at home.”

Nunn first started refereeing aged 14 after being among a group of junior players that Trowbridge Town FC put through an officiating course.