What Is the Secret Behind the Perfect World Cup 2026 Pitches?

Fifa has spent eight years preparing the grass pitches for the 2026 World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico, after criticism of the surfaces used at the 2024 Copa América in the US.

The project was led by John Sorochan, a University of Tennessee professor, and involved more than 170 scientific tests. Researchers studied ball roll, bounce, grass height and the way players interact with the surface, with even a five-millimetre difference in turf height shown to affect how the game plays.

Because the host cities have very different climates and stadium designs, the same grass could not be used everywhere. Bermuda grass was chosen for hotter venues, while cooler sites will use a blend of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. Thin synthetic fibres were also added among the roots to help the pitches hold their shape.

Indoor stadiums needed a different solution again. LED grow lights were used to provide the light needed for photosynthesis, while hundreds of hectares of turf farms across North America supplied more than one million square feet of grass for delivery by specialist lorries.

The aim was simple: make the pitches good enough that nobody notices them.