Sod farmer Bert Bos grew the surface for FIFA World Cup games in Vancouver
While the players on the pitch at BC Place during the 2026 FIFA World Cup will represent multiple countries, the surface on which they play is Canadian.
That’s because Bert Bos, owner of the 165-acre Bos Sod Farms in Abbotsford, grew the nearly two acres of hybrid turf the players will play on.
The sod farm, which has been in operation since 1993, has provided sod for golf courses like Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Alberta, Greywolf Golf Course in B.C., and Mayacama Golf Course in California.
“We were referred to FIFA,” Bos told Farms.com. “But we don’t know who referred us.”
Cultivating the pitch can come with significant pressure since players aren’t shy to criticize a field if it isn’t up to standard.
During the 2025 Club World Cup, for example, Jude Bellingham, who represents England nationally and plays for Real Madrid in Spain, gave his opinion on field conditions in the U.S.
“The pitches aren’t great at all. It holds up the ball, the ball barely bounces, it’s tough on the knees as well,” he said. “Hopefully someone will look at that going into the World Cup next year.”
After initial communication with FIFA representatives, Bos attended three University of Tennessee and Michigan, and FIFA funded research field days to learn about science-based recommendations for pitch management ahead of the tournament.
“We weren’t awarded the contract right away,” Bos said. “It was still a very competitive process. And since BC Place is owned by a Crown corporation it was a very lengthy process.”
That process included submitting a detailed plan about how Bos and his team would grow the sod and ensure it met FIFA’s quality standards.
Bos Sod Farms officially received the contract to provide the turf in February 2025.
Next came months of preparation for seeding in June.
“We did a base preparation, followed by a thin layer of plastic, followed by carpet installation,” Bos said. “FIFA requires a hybrid component either by stitching fibres into natural sod or using a carpet system with 5 per cent artificial and 95 per cent natural grass. We did the carpet system.”
The hybrid component is a product called HERO Turf Grass. This makes up 5 per cent of the playing surface.
“Then we do a sand infill in 2mm layers,” he said. “Everything is super detailed and there’s lots of testing.”
The natural grass is 84 per cent Kentucky bluegrass and 16 per cent perennial ryegrass as per University of Tennessee recommendations, Bos said.
“That’s by seed count,” he said. “If you do it by seed weight then the numbers can change depending on the cultivars you’re using.”
Underneath the plastic is coarse sand to help with drainage, the sand which was used for the actual sod came from a company on Vancouver Island.
Because the sod is grown on plastic, when the roots hit the plastic they move laterally and create a dense sod and ensure there is no transplant shock.
From there, monitoring and maintenance became the sod farm’s top priority.
Staff collected grass clippings to ensure organic matter doesn’t build up in the rootzone. The turf received up to five moisture level checks per day and multiple soil analyses throughout the year.
“We did weekly optical tissue testing to check nitrogen levels,” Bos said. “We wanted our nitrogen levels low so we could grow the grass slowly and not build up too much organic content. We would spoon feed nitrogen every seven to 10 days.”
This level of detail and care resulted in a high-quality pitch.
“We did everything we could to keep that profile really clean,” Bos said. “We had almost 98 per cent uniformity.”
Growing the pitch is one element but how it performs is another.
The surface underwent multiple FIFA-mandated tests to see how the pitch would behave.
“It’s a very rigorous process,” Bos said. “FIFA tests for things like vertical ball rebound, shock absorption, and vertical deformation. We’re happy that we’ve received very positive feedback.”
Bos and his team harvested, transported, and installed the surface at BC Place two weeks ago. They’re also responsible for sod repair work, should that be required during the tournament.
The harvesting process included removing the turf from the plastic.
“When we pull it off the plastic, you can play on it immediately,” Bos said.
Bos and his staff then cut the rolls of sod into pieces 4ft. wide and 40ft. long.
Bos needed nearly 22 trucks to transport the sod almost two hours away to the site that will host seven games including two of Canada’s group stage matches.
The pitch will be put through its paces beginning on Saturday, June 13 when Australia and Turkey play the first game on Bos’s sod.
“It’s really cool that we can be a part of this in some way and help highlight what Canada is capable of,” Bos said.