FIFA President Gianni Infantino has acclaimed groundbreaking work to prepare the best possible pitches for both the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ and FIFA World Cup 26™ on a visit to the innovative turf and research development (R&D) facility in Knoxville, Tennessee. When Host Cities and venues for the FIFA World Cup 26™ were announced in June 2022, FIFA’s Pitch Management Team implemented a five-year research and development project to produce perfect surfaces for the tournament and consistency for the players irrespective of the climate or stadium type in which they would be participating. That partnership with the University of Tennessee (UT) and Michigan State University (MSU) has since been expanded to include the biggest-ever FIFA Club World Cup, and President Infantino was impressed by the progressive use of technology that can benefit both player welfare and the spectacle of 167 matches across two trailblazing global tournaments.

“The quality of the pitches is important for these two fantastic competitions in cities which all have different conditions: some are at sea level, some are at altitude, some are in domes and covered, so we want to make sure that the quality of the pitch is the same for all teams and all players in all cities,” Mr Infantino told assembled media. “The quality of the surface, the grass, has always been of paramount importance to me,” the FIFA President continued. “With our internal team at FIFA we have always been exploring ways to do things better, especially when you have a tournament that is lasting one month (or) a month and a half and is played in different cities. Our team investigated and found the best people in the world to help us and it’s fair to say that with Alan Ferguson [FIFA Senior Pitch Management Manager], we had this vision and joined forces to do something where the focus is the (FIFA) World Cup and the (FIFA) Club World Cup, but from which the whole world will benefit.”

Mr Infantino was joined on his tour of the facility by Senior Advisor, Carlos Cordeiro, Manolo Zubiria, Chief Tournament Officer USA for FIFA World Cup 26™, Chief Business Officer Romy Gai as well as Mr Ferguson. He acclaimed the work of the University of Tennessee hosts, led by industry-leading Dr John Sorochan, Distinguished Professor of Turfgrass Science and Management, and thanked UT System President Randy Boyd, UT Knoxville Provost John Zomchick and UT Institute of Agriculture Senior Vice Chancellor and Vice President Keith Carver for their support in bringing the project to fruition. “The focus is to think of consistency and uniformity,” added Dr Sorochan. “For 104 matches, across 16 stadiums and with five indoors, at different altitudes, different countries, two different types of grasses and try to make them play the same. So, when an athlete’s running and cutting, if they’re playing in Miami, and they go to Mexico City, to Vancouver, they don’t feel that it’s different under their feet, and when the ball strikes the surface and comes to them, it’s the same – and that’s been my vision and goal since the beginning. “This is where FIFA’s been amazing for investing in research and looking at evidence-based data to get the highest quality pitch possible.”