The grass vs. turf debate, part MMXLVII: Why turf is the option for the Women’s World Cup

Commonwealth Stadium

NASL vs. USL. Free agency vs. MLS central control of contracts. Grass vs. turf. These are debates that go round and round and round in North American soccer.

The grass vs. turf debate was a topic of debate once again on Wednesday, during a sponsored conference call with three members of the women’s national team — Rhian Wilkinson, Erin McLeod and Diana Matheson — and Women’s World Cup communications officer Sandra Gage.

Gage was asked about the complaints being made from some of the world’s top female players — most notably American Abby Wambach — about all of the 2015 Women’s World Cup being played on artificial turf.

“We are comfortable with the decision we have made to play all matches on artificial turf,” said Gage. In fact, she said, it’s a FIFA requirement to have all of the World Cup match fields and training pitches be of the same surface. She said you can’t mix turf and grass and still be able to comply with FIFA Fair Play regulations.

Now, it is worth noting that, when Canada hosted the 2007 U-20 World Cup, there was a mix of surfaces — Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium was used before the switch was made from grass to turf, while BMO Field staged the final before its surface was changed from turf to grass. But, according to Gage, and this was confirmed by the CSA after the media call, the expectation for the Women’s World Cup, or any senior tourney, is that you go either all grass or all turf. And Canada is committed to all turf. Standards are different for youth tournaments, where mixes of surfaces are tolerated.

Some things to consider about the turf vs. grass debate: As Canadian Soccer Association officials continue to remind us, the turf was actually part of the World Cup bid that was submitted to FIFA. Once the bid was accepted, going to grass would have been a change to what was submitted as the master plan for the Women’s World Cup. So, if complaints were to be made about the all-turf World Cup, it should have been made during the bidding process.

So, the notion that the Canadian Soccer Association and FIFA decided some time in the last few months to green-light turf fields isn’t accurate. Turf, according to the bidding process, was always part of the plan.

As well, all of the turf fields will be inspected in the years that they are used for FIFA competitions. For example, at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, which is hosting U-20 Women’s World Cup matches in 2014 and Women’s World Cup matches in 2015, the turf will be tested before each of those tournaments.

What’s clear is that the hard turf what exists at BC Place now and the patchy turf that’s been laid down at Olympic Stadium for Montreal Impact home matches wouldn’t be up to snuff in 2015.

Yes, there are issues with turf. The No. 1 complaint I hear from players is about the heat: The black rubber pellets that anchors the plastic grass reflects sunlight, and when you step on an artificial pitch when the sun beats down on it, there can be a difference of 10 C between off-the-pitch and on-the-pitch temperatures.

Grass is a nice dream. It is no doubt the most ideal playing surface… when it’s permanent. No argument will be made here about that. And, in soccer-specific stadiums, every effort should be made to install grass surfaces, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the City of Toronto made absolutely the right decision when they agreed to find a way to get BMO Field flipped over from artificial turf to grass.

But, recent temporary grass surfaces have been a disaster. Remember when the Whitecaps had grass installed at Empire Stadium for their friendly against Manchester City, and it couldn’t handle the British Columbia rain, forcing a postponement of a league game against Real Salt Lake back in 2011. Or remember that dying grass surface at Detroit’s Ford Field at the 2011 Gold Cup?

Ask yourself, what would be more dangerous for the world’s elite? To play on new turf, or temporary grass?

Ironically, if all of the World Cup needs to be played on the same surface, had Toronto been part of the bid, and BMO Field been used as a venue, it would have had to switch back to turf. Oh, the irony.

As stated earlier, grass is ideal in soccer-specific stadiums. The bid for the Women’s World Cup was about using multipurpose stadiums, many of which where the CFL is the biggest game in town. They, rightfully, don’t want to see a return to grass – as it gets torn up by football games and is expensive to maintain. CFL teams are long-term tenants of the stadiums, and the league is already cooperating to have some of its teams clear out of their home fields for significant portions of two seasons.

Take the Edmonton Eskimos, for example. In 2014, they will be asked to leave Commonwealth for most of August, as Edmonton is a U-20 host city. Then, in 2015, the Eskimos will lose all of their June preseason at home, plus the opening week of the CFL season — unless the CFL decides to move back the schedule for that year — to accommodate the Women’s World Cup.

To make a World Cup bid work, the Canadian Soccer Association needs to be collaborative, not combatative. And the understanding has to be that multipurpose stadiums are, well, multipurpose stadiums.

FIFA reps will be at various Canadian sites in mid-August.

Of course, this column will do nothing to make the grass-only advocates happy. Heck, I understand that pain. When you look back at soccer history, the game was more free-flowing and higher scoring with the leather ball, as defenders and even keepers could push up into the attack, as they didn’t have to worry about the heavy ball being chipped the distance of the field over their heads.

Maybe we should target the ball next. Bring back leather!

And, with advent of video technology, coaches can break down other teams like never before, and that’s led to even more stifling defensive systems. Let’s ban that, too. Old school should be old school!

McLEOD AND THE MOHAWK
The turf at Commonwealth will be front and centre when the Canadian women’s national team plays its next home match, Oct. 30 against the South Koreans.

For keeper Erin McLeod, who grew up in the Edmonton suburb of St. Albert and backstopped Canada at the 2002 U-19 Women’s World Championship, the match against the Koreans will be a special homecoming. McLeod, like many of her national-teammates, made her initial big splash at that tournament, which saw Commonwealth filled for the final match against the United States — and that game still stands as a high-water mark for women’s soccer in Canada.McLeod is looking forward to playing in front of her grandmother and extended family, and is considering reviving the multicoloured Mohawk of 2002 for the match.

“That U-19 tournament gave me a start as a national-team player, now I get to go full circle and home,” she said. “The way Edmonton supported that (U-19) tournament was incredible.”

McLeod has met with many Canadian girls, from autograph sessions to coaching clinics. And she marvels at how they recognize her and the other national teamers. Canadian girls are no longer dreaming of being the woman’s answer to (place top male player here). They dream about in the same stratosphere as Christine Sinclair.

“They know, the players, not just the jerseys,” said McLeod.

And that’s different from when the current national teamers were kids.

“When we were growing up we wither had pictures of male players on our walls, or Americans,” said Wilkinson.