FIFA cuts synthetic turf and gives Women’s World Cup the real stuff

At the last Women’s World Cup, in Canada, players had to put up with hard synthetic pitches in searing heat. There’ll be no such issues with the surfaces in France.

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There’ll be no turf war at this Women’s World Cup, with players embracing FIFA’s switch to grass pitches for France 2019.

Four years ago players and coaches were up in arms over the use of artificial surfaces in Canada, in a high-profile row that shot to the top of the global game.

US forwards Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan joined a string of other stars in filing – and later withdrawing – a lawsuit against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association, claiming sexual discrimination because men’s World Cup games have always been played on grass.

Critics complained synthetic pitches are less forgiving than natural grass and therefore impact play due to concerns over injury – the reason Thierry Henry famously refused to play MLS matches on the stuff.

But while this year’s 24-team tournament is very much underpinned by the gender inequality narrative, there’ll at least be no unequal footing, with all nine venues in France decidedly devoid of artificial pitches.

Players had to contend with synthetic pitches at the 2015 World Cup in Canada. Picture: Getty Images

FIFA has also stipulated turf won’t be acceptable in 2023, a stipulation contained in the bidding requirements sent to hosting hopefuls including Australia.

The world governing body will permit the hybrid system now used widely at world-class stadiums, where synthetic grass fibers are intricately woven in between and beneath the natural grass.

Midfielder Tameka Yallop, who played at Canada 2015, acknowledged a discernible difference in the way the ball travels and bounces on turf versus real grass.

“It’s pretty different actually,” Yallop told The Daily Telegraph.

“I mean, grass is a little less predictable but we’ll be playing on top-notch fields which is kind of what we all dream of anyway.

“A perfect grass pitch is pretty much everyone’s favourite. We call it carpet when it’s like that.”

Football Federation Australia’s head of national performance Luke Casserly said natural grass was “100 per cent” better.

Brazil’s Marta slides into Australia’s Elise Kellond-Knight during their match played on sytnthetic turf at the Women’s World Cup in Canada in 2015. Picture: Getty Images

“Synthetic pitches in Australia certainly have their place but nothing beats playing on a high-quality grass pitch,” Casserly told The Daily Telegraph.

“The thing that compounded the issue in Canada was that the fields were basically NFL fields in many cases and didn’t have proper water jets, so there was nowhere near enough water on the synthetic pitch and the ball moved slowly and grabbed.

“On natural grass and with sprinklers, the ball will move quicker and the pace of game will be so much quicker, which suits all the better teams.

“This time of year quality of pitches is usually top shelf so we’re expecting that.”

One of the problems in Canada was how rapidly the synthetic turf absorbed heat, and temperatures were reportedly recorded at more than twice the air temperature.

At the time, recently retired Matildas forward Michelle Heyman described it as “as like walking on hot coal with your skin blistering and cracking”.

Matildas trio Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Melissa Barbieri were among nearly 23,000 signatories to a pre-World Cup petition over the issue.

I think something happened in my sock during last nights game , #turfburn pic.twitter.com/HEms02ymW7

— Sam Kerr (@samkerr1) May 12, 2013

In 2013, Kerr tweeted a photo of a pair of bloody football socks with the hashtag #turfburn, and US striker Sydney Leroux’s tweet the same year showing friction burns on her legs resurfaced around the tournament.

Tom Hanks, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant also took up the cause.

“Opinion: Women’s World Cup is the best Soccer of the year,” Hanks tweeted.

“Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. Hanx.”