TURF or GRASS? Why U.S. stadiums made the switch for FIFA World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is well underway on FOX, and while you might recognize some of the host stadiums, a lot of the playing surfaces are different to comply with tournament standards.

Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, home to the six-time Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, is one World Cup venue that switched from artificial turf to natural grass for the tournament. The NFL Players Association has been calling for this for years.

The NFLPA says data shows there is a higher risk of a non-contact injury on an artificial turf field than a natural grass field.

"Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, not only was the contact injury rate for lower extremities higher during practices and games held on artificial turf, NFL players consistently experienced a much higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injury," the NFLPA argument reads.

#worldcup #fifa #soccer #turf #gillettestadium #nfl #sports

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