Will Copa América’s poor U.S. pitches have an effect on 2026 World Cup?

The 2024 Copa América began on June 20 with what ought to’ve been solely a celebratory event. In entrance of 70,524 followers at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, reigning FIFA World Cup champions Argentina triumphed 2-0 over Canada in a maybe surprisingly aggressive recreation. However speak of the consequence light into the background after the gamers voiced frustration and anger over the situations of the sector offered by CONMEBOL.

With the 2026 World Cup set to be performed in lots of the identical venues throughout america, every new controversy over pitch situations at Copa América accentuates the continued issues in regards to the high quality of the venues and the problem of utilizing NFL stadiums for soccer. At Copa América, some stadiums are pure grass, however a number of have synthetic turf, wherein layers of momentary grass have been laid over the sector.

So why did CONMEBOL go for these subject specs, and can situations enhance when the U.S. co-hosts the world’s largest sporting occasion with Canada and Mexico in two years’ time?

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni led the cost after the ultimate whistle final month, questioning why the South American soccer confederation waited till 48 hours previous to the match to arrange the sector.

“They knew seven months in the past that we would play right here and so they modified the sector two days in the past,” he mentioned angrily on the postmatch information convention. “It isn’t an excuse, however this is not subject. Sincerely, the sector isn’t apt for these sorts of gamers. We gave not essentially recreation, however a recreation based on the pitch and what the opponent proposed. We could not do rather more with the situations of the pitch. Take a look at the velocity of the passes that we did.”

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez added to the frustration: “Very bumpy. We confronted a powerful Canada facet on a pitch that was a catastrophe. It jumped on you as you ran. We should enhance on this side — in any other case, Copa América will all the time seem at a decrease degree than the European Championship.”

It wasn’t simply Argentina gamers who haven taken subject with the fields throughout Copa América. United States midfielder Weston McKennie mentioned after taking part in at Mercedes-Benz Stadium: “I feel what Martínez was saying was utterly true. You are taking part in on a soccer subject, with laid grass that is all patchy and it breaks up each step you’re taking. It is irritating,”

Peru supervisor Jorge Fossati cited AT&T Stadium’s unsatisfactory subject as a possible cause for the Achilles damage of Luis Advíncula: “It got here out of nowhere. I understand that it is a grass subject right now nevertheless it’s not regular grass. It isn’t grass that is born, and grows [naturally]. It is a grass they bring about in from elsewhere. That may be a little bit of a tougher floor and it could have an effect on you in that precise place [the Achilles]. I am not a physician however I have been round soccer for a couple of years.”

Brazil famous person Vinícius Júnior, Canada’s Kamal Miller, Colombia’s James Rodríguez and Chile supervisor Ricardo Gareca stand among the many many distinguished figures who’ve all additionally voiced their issues over the sector situations.

CONMEBOL introduced the 14 stadiums chosen to function venues of Copa América matches again in December. A mixture of NFL, MLS and multi-purpose stadiums had been chosen, with six venues using synthetic turf and eight stadiums a subject of grass. Three Main League Soccer venues made the minimize: Austin FC’s Q2 stadium, Sporting Kansas Metropolis’s Kids’s Mercy Park and Orlando Metropolis’s Inter&Co stadium.

Frederico Nantes, CONMEBOL’s director of competitions, mentioned the dimensions and most capability of soccer-specific MLS venues performed a job within the option to restrict their use all through the event. Issues of measurement, journey distance between cities and infrastructure had been considered earlier than CONMEBOL understood that synthetic turf couldn’t be prevented regardless of outcries from gamers concerning that taking part in floor.

To attain uniformity and equity, CONMEBOL opted to standardize subject situations by ruling every stadium required changes to be made in an effort to adjust to the necessity of a 100m x 64m pitch (a conventional subject measures at 105m x 68m) and grass subject with 25mm density. Copa América individuals had been knowledgeable of the dimension change eight months previous to the event, as soon as once more elevating issues.

Although host venues had been confirmed in December, preparations at every stadium started seven months previous to the announcement to accommodate the newly applied guidelines. CONMEBOL held conversations concerning pitch upkeep, stadium administration, logistics and coordination in June 2023 to be ready for the competitors.

“We began the venture in June, when touring to investigate fields and watch video games right here, and in November, we started inspections in all stadiums and all coaching facilities,” Maristela Kuhn, CONMEBOL’s agricultural engineer, mentioned. “Studies had been generated with suggestions of all the things that needed to be carried out. We had conferences with the agronomists and programming. With a particular expertise, we had all of the grass plantations outlined.”

The grass produced throughout america for the event makes use of a particular expertise, whereby the corporate seeds any materials on high of a mattress of plastic to make sure all grass grows to an unwavering top and density. CONMEBOL labeled the system “able to play,” as a result of product’s means to be transported, put in and obtainable for quick use. Kuhn confirmed the expertise was the identical used on pitches in Europe, not directly responding to these feedback evaluating the Copa América and European Championship situations.

Regardless of the promise of consistency in requirements of measurements and high quality throughout fields, every stadium obtained totally different therapy as soon as the competitors started attributable to climate and development situations.

For the inaugural match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, pitch set up began three days previous to the sport on June 17 when a refrigerated truck transported the rolls of grass to the stadium for stadium crews to finish the 48-hour conversion. The panels of grass had been laid on high of the substitute turf individually to create the mandatory cross-sections, earlier than the CONMEBOL crew started the aesthetic work of outlining the pitch.

The federation accomplished a number of exams previous to the sport, together with resistance and efficiency trials, to make sure the grass met the group’s requirements of high quality, density and pressure. However the measures didn’t persuade individuals, insisting the panels of grass parched collectively affected the velocity of play and the way in which the ball rolled.

“They sewed panels of grass collectively. It is painted to seem nicer than it’s,” Scaloni noticed.

Two weeks after the preliminary match, CONMEBOL reassured media that the pitch was worthy sufficient to host world-class gamers for the competitors. The federation ran a second spherical of exams on the sector earlier than the U.S. males’s nationwide workforce’s match in opposition to Panama, and located no cause to interchange the grass or re-install panels.

“The grass in Atlanta posed completely no menace. All of the exams got here out ample,” mentioned Nantes. “I feel the aesthetic of the sector was what posed an issue for the gamers, they care lots about aesthetics.”

Kuhn added: “In Atlanta we had the choice of doing a second conversion, it’s a closed stadium, prepared for conversion and we determined to not change as a result of the grass was superb and primarily based on technical evaluations we determined that it will not be vital to alter and we saved the primary grass till the second recreation.”

Venues with year-round grass, like Exhausting Rock Stadium, GEHA Area at Arrowhead Stadium, and Levi’s Stadium, underwent a a lot much less rigorous course of. The fields had been nonetheless changed with new, CONMEBOL-approved grass however positioned two weeks forward of the primary match. Exhausting Rock Stadium, nonetheless, will see a second subject change 4 days forward of the ultimate on July 14.

Regardless of the timeframe of set up and beforehand laid floor, CONMEBOL confirmed top, density and temperature checks, and resistance testing had been carried out earlier than and after completion in each stadium to implement uniformity. Although the grass was grown to suit sure measures and requirements, the variance in set up course of and floor base offered groups with a distinct taking part in expertise. The density, top, and pressure of the grass did not pose a harsh discrepancy, however the base floor wherein it was laid on high of did.

The distinction in floor areas from venues with synthetic turf like that of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, AT&T Stadium and MetLife Stadium present various situations from people who boast year-round grass like fields in Miami and Kansas Metropolis.

Eight of the 14 venues used for Copa América can even function hosts for the 2026 World Cup, and people with synthetic turf will return. However FIFA is ready to implement a distinct algorithm when bringing the worldwide event to North America to keep away from any disparity in experiences. Beneath FIFA laws, eight of the 16 stadiums deliberate to host World Cup matches that sometimes make use of synthetic turf fields might be required to put in momentary pure grass surfaces for the event. However based on Alan Ferguson, FIFA’s chief subject czar, all fields might be of the hybrid selection, the place a minor share of synthetic fibers are woven into pure grass to create a sturdier floor.

FIFA’s aim, like that of CONMEBOL for the 2024 Copa América, is to create 16 fields that look, really feel and play virtually identically, no matter local weather, kind of grass and stadium infrastructure.

“It is essential that we get these pitches taking part in and look as an identical as we are able to,” mentioned Ferguson. “Whether or not it is a stadium in Canada, within the Midwest U.S., or down within the mountains of Mexico, we wish there to be consistency with what a participant feels beneath his foot. For us, it is all in regards to the consistency of the playability for the participant.”

The event will make use of 16 host stadiums, 84 coaching websites and 178 observe fields, making uniformity difficult the way in which it has been all through the Copa América. The challenges prompted FIFA to implement a analysis and improvement venture to supply the right pitches for the event after asserting the host cities in June 2022. FIFA intends to sort out the issue of uniformity in another way than CONMEBOL, giving taking part nations hope {that a} resolution could also be discovered forward of the 48-team worldwide competitors in two years.