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 sport. However speak of the consequence light into the background after the gamers voiced frustration and anger over the circumstances of the sector supplied by CONMEBOL.

With the 2026 World Cup set to be performed in lots of the identical venues throughout the US, every new controversy over pitch circumstances at Copa América accentuates the continued considerations in regards to the high quality of the venues and the issue of utilizing NFL stadiums for soccer. At Copa América, some stadiums are pure grass, however a number of have synthetic turf, by which layers of non permanent grass have been laid over the sector.

So why did CONMEBOL go for these area specs, and can circumstances 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 might play right here and so they modified the sector two days in the past,” he mentioned angrily on the postmatch information convention. “It is not an excuse, however this is not an excellent area. Sincerely, the sector just isn’t apt for these sorts of gamers. We gave not essentially an excellent sport, however a sport in line with the pitch and what the opponent proposed. We could not do rather more with the circumstances 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 robust Canada aspect on a pitch that was a catastrophe. It jumped on you as you ran. We should enhance on this facet — in any other case, Copa América will all the time seem at a decrease stage than the European Championship.”

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

Peru supervisor Jorge Fossati cited AT&T Stadium’s unsatisfactory area as a possible purpose for the Achilles damage of Luis Advíncula: “It got here out of nowhere. I notice that this can be a grass area right this moment but it surely’s not regular grass. It is not grass that is born, and grows [naturally]. It is a grass they convey in from elsewhere. That may be a little bit of a tougher floor and it may possibly have an effect on you in that actual place [the Achilles]. I am not a physician however I have been round soccer for just a few years.”

Brazil celebrity 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 considerations over the sector circumstances.

CONMEBOL introduced the 14 stadiums chosen to function venues of Copa América matches again in December. A mix of NFL, MLS and multi-purpose stadiums have been chosen, with six venues using synthetic turf and eight stadiums a area of grass. Three Main League Soccer venues made the reduce: Austin FC’s Q2 stadium, Sporting Kansas Metropolis’s Youngsters’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 task within the option to restrict their use all through the match. Issues of dimension, journey distance between cities and infrastructure have been considered earlier than CONMEBOL understood that synthetic turf couldn’t be averted regardless of outcries from gamers relating to that taking part in floor.

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

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

“We began the mission in June, when touring to research 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. “Stories have been generated with suggestions of all the things that needed to be executed. We had conferences with the agronomists and programming. With a particular know-how, we had all of the grass plantations outlined.”

The grass produced throughout the US for the match makes use of a particular know-how, whereby the corporate seeds any materials on prime of a mattress of plastic to make sure all grass grows to an unwavering top and density. CONMEBOL labeled the system “able to play,” because of the product’s capacity to be transported, put in and accessible for instant use. Kuhn confirmed the know-how was the identical used on pitches in Europe, not directly responding to these feedback evaluating the Copa América and European Championship circumstances.

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 as a result of climate and building circumstances.

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 have been laid on prime of the synthetic 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 assessments 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 power. However the measures didn’t persuade contributors, 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 assessments on the sector earlier than the U.S. males’s nationwide workforce’s match towards Panama, and located no purpose to interchange the grass or re-install panels.

“The grass in Atlanta posed completely no risk. All of the assessments got here out adequate,” mentioned Nantes. “I believe the aesthetic of the sector was what posed an issue for the gamers, they care rather a lot 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 based mostly on technical evaluations we determined that it might not be obligatory to alter and we stored the primary grass till the second sport.”

Venues with year-round grass, like Laborious Rock Stadium, GEHA Discipline at Arrowhead Stadium, and Levi’s Stadium, underwent a a lot much less rigorous course of. The fields have been nonetheless changed with new, CONMEBOL-approved grass however positioned two weeks forward of the primary match. Laborious Rock Stadium, nonetheless, will see a second area 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 have been executed 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 supplied groups with a unique taking part in expertise. The density, top, and power of the grass did not pose a harsh discrepancy, however the base floor by which it was laid on prime 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 circumstances from those 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 unique algorithm when bringing the worldwide match 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 usually make use of synthetic turf fields can be required to put in non permanent pure grass surfaces for the match. However in line with Alan Ferguson, FIFA’s chief area czar, all fields can 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 nearly 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 equivalent 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 underneath his foot. For us, it is all in regards to the consistency of the playability for the participant.”

The match will make use of 16 host stadiums, 84 coaching websites and 178 apply fields, making uniformity sophisticated the way in which it has been all through the Copa América. The challenges prompted FIFA to implement a analysis and improvement mission to provide the right pitches for the match after saying the host cities in June 2022. FIFA intends to sort out the issue of uniformity in another way than CONMEBOL, giving collaborating international locations hope {that a} answer could also be discovered forward of the 48-team worldwide competitors in two years.