When the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes to North America, matches at stadiums across the U.S., Mexico and Canada will be played on specially prepared turf designed to meet FIFA’s standards for consistency across open-air and domed venues in both warm climates and cold ones.
The pitches are hybrid, as required by FIFA, though about 95% of the turf is natural grass.
John Sorochan, a University of Tennessee at Knoxville professor of turfgrass sciences and management, said synthetic fibers are stitched in “to act like rebar to avoid a big blowout or a divot” as players run and slide on the playing surface.
This “homogenizes” the surfaces, he said, to make the bounce and traction of each field feel similar.
The playing fields at World Cup venues are being replaced, with stadiums in warmer climates installing sections of turf with warm-season grasses, like Bermuda. Domed stadiums and outdoor pitches in cooler climates will use cool-season grasses — a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.
The University of Tennessee and its research partner, Michigan State University, spent years working with FIFA to maximize turf consistency for player safety, performance and fairness across matches.
It wasn’t until 2022 that researchers learned which stadiums would rely on UT’s turf expertise — including several indoor venues, which present added challenges for maintaining real grass over a multiweek tournament.
With stadiums in cities from Vancouver to Guadalajara hosting the tournament over 104 matches, varying sunlight, elevation, climate and time zones all affect how grass grows.
Except for the stadium in Mexico City, which was seeded back in December, each World Cup host facility needed to be sodded before the five-week tournament kicks off June 11.
Keenan Thomas is the higher education reporter for Knox News. Email: keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com.
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Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
