American farmers are growing the grass for the tournament
Former Spanish national team player and recently departed Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola likened the game of soccer to art.
“I want my players to paint the pitch with their passes,” he’s quoted as saying. “The pitch is their canvas.”
And as players from 48 countries make their way to North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, American farmers are preparing those canvasses in 11 stadiums across the country.
In Colorado, for example, Green Valley Turf in Platteville is responsible for the playing surface for games in Dallas, Atlanta, and Houston.
The playing surface is a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass developed through FIFA-funded research at Michigan State University and the University of Tennessee.
All indoor facilities will use the same mix.
“It seems a little strange that the grass is coming all the way from Colorado, but those buildings will be climate controlled at 70 degrees throughout the whole tournament, so they needed a cool season grass which thrives in our environment that’s near impossible to grow closer to where the venues are,” Joe Wilkins III, owner of Green Valley Turf, told 9News.
The team at Green Valley Turf grew their grass like how a Canadian sod farm produced its surface for games in Vancouver, B.C.
Farmers planted the grass into sand on plastic trays.
When the roots hit the plastic they move laterally and create a dense sod and ensure there’s no transplant shock.
This method also allows for easier harvest and transport to the field.
Once at the venue, the turf is stitched together and carefully monitored with grow lights and precise fertilizer treatments.
Another farm, Carolina Green Turf Farm in Indian Trail, N.C., provided the Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass teams will play on at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey, which will also host the World Cup final on July 19.
This warm-season grass is known for its cold-hardiness and improved drought-resistance.
Like the surfaces at the indoor venues, the Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass grew in plastic with a sand base.
If the fields aren’t up to the players’ standards, soccer players aren’t shy about voicing such opinions.
During the 2019 Copa America in Brazil, Argentine star Lionel Messi described the conditions as “shameful.”
“In truth, the pitches are shameful,” he said. “It is hard to control the ball and carry it. The ball looked like a rabbit, it goes all over the place with this pitch.”