The 2024 Copa América opener between Argentina and Canada was played on a pitch that looked like “a trampoline” or “like walking on a “hollow” stage”, the players said.
“The field conditions were very bad,” said Argentine defender Cristian Romero he said following his team’s 2-0 victory on Thursday.
The temporary grass at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta “was a disaster”, Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez repeated several times.
They were not excuses, the players and Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni clarified. “Thank God we won,” said Scaloni. But “this is not a good field,” he added. “Sincerely, the field is not suitable for these players.”
It was the first of several improvised surfaces that have been or will be prepared for the Copa América, whose 32 games will be played in 14 different venues across the United States.
Eleven of the 14 are NFL stadiums. Six of the 11 typically host football games on artificial turf. But international football has long been averse to synthetic turf, which can have a negative impact on both the health of players and the flow of the game.
Thus, for most high-level soccer games in the United States – including the Copa América and the 2026 World Cup – grass pitches are brought in and installed, either on top of the grass or instead of it, on the cement floor. of the stadium.
Replacing grass for grass, however, does not automatically bring the surface up to international standards. Countless foreign players and coaches have complained about them over the years. Fields can be dangerous if grass panels are not properly joined together. They can be too firm, too soft, or too choppy. Without proper irrigation systems, they can become dry and hold the ball.
“Truly,” Martinez said Thursday night“the field made it a little complicated for us”.
And the latest round of complaints has naturally raised concerns about the impact this long-standing issue could have on the biggest sporting event on the planet, the World Cup.
How the World Cup and Copa América pitches will be different
The entire US portion of the 2026 World Cup will be played at NFL facilities; The Mercedes-Benz Stadium, one of 11, will host eight games, including a semi-final.
The pitches installed for the World Cup, however, will be different from those installed for this Copa América. And the whole process will be much more intense.
In Atlanta, for example, the Copa América floor was laid a few days ago, while the World Cup surface is already being prepared years in advance.
Fields have been one of FIFA’s top priorities since the USA was chosen to co-host the 2026 World Cup in June 2018. In some stadiums, including Atlanta, irrigation and ventilation systems have already been installed in preparation for the tournament. And in some cases, the highly specific, carefully engineered grass that will support the World Cup “hybrid” fields is already being cultivated.
FIFA still hired experts from US universities to study best practices in pasture cultivation. And it worked with officials at all 11 U.S. stadiums to develop implementation and maintenance plans.
“We are looking at converting the pitch and how that conversion will be done to make it a natural grass surface that actually survives through the tournament, which is a big challenge,” said 2026 World Cup boss Heimo Shrigi. on a visit to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last year.
All 11 stadiums – even those with pre-existing grass surfaces – have worked to meet (and finance) FIFA’s requirements.
‘Not good for the show’
At Mercedes-Benz Stadium this winter, after the Atlanta Falcons’ season ended, the grass was removed so work on the underground irrigation system could begin. The World Cup grass will be installed in early 2026 and maintained for months until the end of the tournament.
So why couldn’t grass be installed for the 2024 Copa América, or even permanently?
In most cases, the answer is that artificial turf can better accommodate and withstand non-sporting events such as concerts – which fills every stadium owner’s wallet with additional revenue.
In Atlanta, after the 2026 World Cup ends – although a Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United, plays its home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – the grass will be removed and the turf reinstalled.
The turf remained in place last weekend for Atlanta United’s MLS game against the Houston Dynamo. Argentine media followed the game and noted that the surface had not yet been altered; some were perplexed.
“We knew we were going to play here seven months ago,” Scaloni said after the game. “And they moved the grass two days ago. It’s not good for the show. Sorry.”
It wasn’t even good for the players. The ball, Martinez said, was “bouncing.”
“Having to play this competition on a field as ugly as this is regrettable,” Romero told Argentine network TyC Sports.
They will then travel to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, another NFL stadium that is running on temporary turf to replace its artificial turf. Similar processes will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and NRG Stadium in Houston.
Three of the other Copa América venues are MLS soccer-specific stadiums, where surface area should not be an issue. The rest – Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California; State Farm Stadium in Arizona; Allegiant Stadium in greater Las Vegas; Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City; and the Hard Rock Stadium in greater Miami – normally the venue for games on Bermuda grass.
