The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to feature some of the greatest soccer players at MetLife Stadium in the coming weeks. The top two teams will clash there for ultimate glory in July.
A pristine field is key to showcasing their talents, and some venues—including MetLife—will need significant renovations, like replacing artificial turf with grass, to meet FIFA’s standards.
“Football is inclusive, whether you’re a kid from an Ivy League background or someone who grew up with nothing,” CBS Sports Golasso analyst Michael LaHood remarked. “To create a memorable experience, a good field is essential because it highlights the skills of great players.”
FIFA has been diligently ensuring that the playing surfaces remain sustainable during the six-week tournament across North America. However, LaHood thinks this is merely the bare minimum. Dr. Trey Rogers, a professor from Michigan State University involved in shaping the World Cup pitches, quipped that if his work goes unnoticed, he has succeeded.
Over the past six years, FIFA has collaborated with international researchers, including the University of Tennessee and Michigan State University, to develop turf fields for eight World Cup stadiums, MetLife included. The new grass was laid at MetLife on May 7, just in time for the first of eight World Cup matches between Brazil and Morocco on June 13.
Before the turf was installed, the Post spoke with project officials and soccer experts about how MetLife’s pitch came to be.
“The insights we gathered for the World Cup fields were crucial. I couldn’t have done my job effectively without that data,” FIFA’s senior pitch manager David Graham explained.
The journey to create that field began a decade ago, with discussions about the 2026 tournament starting in 2016. Tennessee State was enlisted for help in 2018, and Michigan State joined in 2020, largely thanks to the efforts of Dr. John Sorochan from the University of Tennessee, who worked on the Pontiac Silverdome field during the 1994 World Cup.
As a result, Rogers, Sorochan, and their team began investigating how to ensure uniformity across stadiums like MetLife.
They faced a key question: what to do about MetLife’s existing turf? Do they remove it entirely? Or lay something other than grass?
Ultimately, they decided to lay a layer called Permavoid atop the asphalt for drainage, with synthetic fibers integrated into the turf base, as shared by American soccer analyst Devon Kerr.
FIFA employed a foot-lower-extremity (fLEX) machine to test how players’ foot strikes would interact with the field. Sorochan mentioned it helped assess safety and playability.
“We can evaluate both the natural surface’s playability and measure the load athletes experience when contacting it,” Sorochan added.
Michigan State, Tennessee, and FIFA hosted four pitch management days over the last two years, conducting seminars to share research and discuss future plans. More than 250 participants, including turf experts and FIFA representatives, gathered for a meeting in Tennessee in May 2024.
This collaborative research led to selecting two types of grass for the fields: a blend of Kentucky bluegrass and ryegrass for 11 cooler stadiums, and hybrid Bermuda grass for five venues in warmer climates, including MetLife, Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), Levi’s Stadium (California), and two stadiums in Mexico. Graham noted that growing the Bermuda grass took over eight months.
“Given the project’s scale, we had to segment our work. Once we established a base, we could build on it,” said Rogers, comparing it to assembling a complex toy set.
This groundwork is crucial since grass has benefits that artificial turf lacks.
Injuries tend to be more frequent on grass surfaces, especially at MetLife. In recent seasons, NFL stars like Malik Nabors, Aaron Rodgers, and Nick Bosa suffered serious injuries on MetLife’s turf.
Trainer David Copeland-Smith, who has worked with World Cup athletes, has repeatedly witnessed that one wrong move on grass can lead to severe injuries. Some players, including former USWNT defender Kerry O’Hara, chose to avoid training on grass due to safety concerns.
Dr. Nicola Maffulli, a notable orthopedic surgeon, also stated that grass is gentler on athletes. Grass can impose constant pressure on players’ feet, leading to injuries like Achilles and patellar tendon tears.
Copeland-Smith noted that holding the entire World Cup on grass would prevent “huge cumulative fatigue.”
“I’d prefer to play on slightly uneven natural grass rather than a perfectly manicured turf, because that could lead to long-term issues,” said Kerr, who suffered career-ending injuries during turf practice.
This necessity is why FIFA mandates grass for the World Cup.
“I want my players to walk onto that field with complete confidence,” Copeland-Smith emphasized. “I hope the pitch enhances the spectacle instead of detracting from it.”
Last summer, an early version of MetLife’s grass pitch was showcased at the Club World Cup, but it did not meet expectations.
Players struggled with the soft, short grass, affecting the game’s pace. Borussia Dortmund’s manager, Niko Kovac, criticized MetLife’s water system, likening it to a putting green.
Players found the pitch to be “hard on the knees,” as the soft grass was quite unstable.
LaHood expressed that the preparations felt rushed, seemingly prioritizing team attraction over grass quality.
With time running out, Tennessee, Michigan State, and FIFA got one last chance to refine the pitch before the upcoming match.
Rogers indicated he expected the results, as several stadiums, including MetLife, lacked sufficient time for proper field preparation. Nonetheless, Kerr believed the Club World Cup provided a valuable opportunity to reveal potential issues.
The February field day saw participation from all field managers and many of the same FIFA officials who had previously collaborated. Through additional testing, adjustments like grow lights were made to optimize the field.
“We will rely on research to move forward and lay the foundation for what we aim to achieve,” Graham stated.
Research influenced every aspect of MetLife’s World Cup pitch.
Sorochan hopes—and believes—that the field will withstand the rigors of the 37-day tournament and that there will be no noticeable decline from the first match to the final on July 19.
If that occurs, it will fulfill Rogers’ wish. The field’s performance will no longer be a topic; it will represent the culmination of years of effort.
“A lot of dedicated individuals have poured their hearts into this pitch, and I believe that effort will be evident during this World Cup,” Sorochan concluded.
