The Copa América is in full swing, but apart from the exciting matches, stadiums and grass have often been criticized. Spanish media outlet Relevo believes that these two problems have been highlighted with two years to go until the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Since the Copa América began, there has been continuous controversy surrounding stadiums and the quality of the grass. The first to complain was American player Weston McKennie, who said the atmosphere of the matches was terrible, and even compared it to the positive atmosphere at the European Championships. But McKennie’s criticism didn’t stop there, he started to criticize the grass, arguing that the stadiums are mostly equipped with artificial grass because they are mostly used for NFL games.
Following that, Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, and Lautaro Martinez also joined in criticizing the quality of the grass. Even Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni had a few words about the quality of the grass. At a press conference, he said, “We knew we were playing here seven months ago, but they changed the rules. Two days ago the grass was good. If it were artificial, it would be spectacular, but now the grass is not suitable for this type of player”.
Concerning the grass, FIFA had urged the host countries to cooperate in making improvements as early as possible. Because out of 16 World Cup stadiums, 8 have artificial grass. Although artificial grass may look spectacular, it lacks grip, the ball bounces more, and it looks like a bouncing rabbit, which increases the risk of injuries for players.
The second problem is the size of the pitches. While this is rarely seen on television, players and coaches are more aware of this than anyone else. NFL fields are shorter than traditional football fields. The length is usually 100 meters or less. But the usual size of professional football fields is 106, 108, or 110 meters. FIFA’s recommended size is 105 meters long and 68 meters wide.
With two years to go until the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico, the organizing committee has a difficult and complex task ahead of them.
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