A problem that has caused controversy and general unrest since the start of the 2024 Copa América has been the state of the grass. The oldest tournament in the world started a week ago with the debut of the defending champion, Argentina, against the Canadian team, a match that ended with a result in favor of the albiceleste of two goals to zero. At the end of the match, the technical director of the current world champions, Lionel Scaloni, did not mince his words to express his annoyance regarding the state of the field at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. “The difference is that there (against Saudi Arabia in Qatar) we played on a decent field. “It’s a good thing we won, otherwise it would have seemed like a cheap excuse. We’ve known for seven months that we’re going to play here and they changed the grass two days ago. Today’s grass isn’t suitable for this type of player,” he said at the post-match press conference.
Another who complained about the state of the pitch in the opening match was Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who said that “the pitch was a disaster. They put bread on top of a synthetic and it looked like a trampoline every time we received the ball, that puts complications in our game.” Seven days after the competition started and one date before the group stage ends, the malaise has spread across the board to the rest of the teams and technical bodies participating in the championship. The Argentine star Lionel Messi, the Colombian midfielder James Rodríguez and the Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. added their critical voices.
One of the reasons for the state of the field in Atlanta was largely due to the fact that a few weeks earlier, the stadium hosted two important concerts. The first was by country singer Kenny Chesney and the second, two weeks earlier, was one of the dates of the new American tour of The Rolling Stones. Both concerts did not allow the grass on the playing field to recover properly.
Additionally, the grass in the sports venues that host the Copa América are mostly synthetic grass, so they undergo a different preparation process. Raul Barriosa FIFA-approved technical advisor on the maintenance of natural and synthetic grass, explains that these surfaces are first covered with a rubber protection layer and then covered with natural grass mats, which are rolled out over this protection layer. This means that, unlike in Europe – where the pitches are natural and adapted for football – the fields do not achieve this grip or stability.
“These are temporary fields that will last the 30 days of the Cup and then they will be removed. In Europe, they put the field up in a week and they are practically playing in eight or 10 days. For this type of surface, on synthetic grass, to have been in better condition, they needed to be installed at least 90 days before the tournament, something that is impossible, because those stadiums with that capacity are not going to be stopped for that long for a 20-day tournament. So, what I think happened is that they only give you certain dates, certain days to prepare your field and hold your tournament, and then you remove everything. That way they return to their normal conditions of use on synthetic grass,” explains Barrios, who was also the director of operations for the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for 18 years.
With this type of grass placement, the roots, unable to grow downwards, begin to spread out to the sides and, like a carpet, are held together roll by roll, says the architect, who is also certified in field maintenance. However, for the grass rolls to achieve this, they need a little more than two days.
The Rolling Stones and the agenda of other events
Another drawback is that the 14 stadiums designated for the competition do not have exclusive use for the Copa América organization. Many of them have a parallel agenda with concerts, other types of entertainment events or function as training spaces for other sports such as American football.
Barrios sees poor preparation or little time allowance on the part of the organization to prepare the fields. However, he understands that stadiums are supported by holding events. He explains that in the United States it is normal for soccer competition surfaces to be set up a few days in advance of the day of the game, mainly for international friendlies.
“This type of facility obviously does not meet the ideal characteristics and conditions for the development of a good game. Furthermore, they are dangerous, because they are fields that, as they have just been laid, do not have a good grip between one roll and another roll (of grass). The foot can move very easily causing injuries, the bounce of the ball is not a live one, it is one that kills the bounce of the ball and the rolling is also affected. The surface, not being completely even like a pool table, complicates control of the ball,” says the specialist.
Jorge Fossati, technical director of Peru, pointed directly at the grass when asked about the injury of Luis Advíncula, who had to leave the field with signs of pain in his Achilles tendon in their match against Chile. “I’m not a doctor or anything like that, but I’ve been in football for a few years and I know that Achilles tendon injuries can come when it’s not a field with normal grass,” the coach said at a press conference.
Barrios says that the players who come from clubs in Europe are the ones who have suffered the conditions, since they are not used to a surface like that.
Given the controversy and complaints, there was a question about whether the situation will be similar during the 2026 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and which will be hosted in some of the same stadiums as the Copa América. The field specialist says that FIFA’s standards are “very high” and, therefore, the host countries must necessarily adhere to the requests of the highest body in international football.
“They have to make the fields with the type of grass that they are going to indicate and with all the construction characteristics that they are going to supervise. For the World Cup it is not even close to what we are seeing. We expected an attractive Copa América because it was in the United States, unfortunately the quality of the product, the state of the fields, has been greatly degraded, and the truth is that it does not meet the expectations that we all had. In that part they did fall very short,” he concludes.
