FIFA World Cup may soon be played on artificial turf
Jerome Valcke, Secretary-General of world football governing body FIFA has dismissed allegations of gender discrimination over the decision to play next year's FIFA Women's World Cup on artificial turf, saying artificial truf surfaces could also be used for the men's tournament in the future.
40 international women players, including FIFA player of the year Nadine Angerer, have filed a lawsuit in Canada, host nation for the 2015 tournament against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA).
They claim FIFA and the CSA are discriminating against women by staging the event on artificial grass which they say poses safety risks and alters how the game is played, but Valcke said there was no gender discrimination.
In an interview on FIFA's website, Valcke stated "it could well be that sooner rather than later the men's World Cup will also be played on artificial pitches."
Past FIFA World Cup tournaments have all been played on natural grass, although composite/hybrid surfaces were used at some venues for the 2010 and 2014 men's tournaments in South Africa and Brazil.
Valcke explained "I can personally guarantee (the pitches) will be of the highest international standard for the official stadiums and three training sites per host city," Valcke said.
"This is the reason why we have hired ... an independent pitch expert and will also have a technical testing institute to monitor and verify the quality.
"Everybody can be assured that we take the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 very seriously and are committed to working together with the national organising committee to organise the best possible tournament."
Valcke added "for many years now, any organiser of a FIFA event - irrespective of whether it be a men's or women's competition, including the men's World Cup - has had the right to propose for the tournament to be played on artificial turf, provided that it is of the highest quality and the same playing surface is used for all venues and training sites."
Valcke said climate was behind the decision to use artificial turf, concluding "most sporting infrastructure in Canada is on artificial turf, primarily due to the extreme climate. It would be very difficult to ensure solid natural-grass pitches at all venues," he said.
"This is not a question of money, or of differences between men's and women's events, but it is a matter of the natural conditions in Canada: we want to guarantee consistent top-level playing conditions for all 24 teams during the event."This has been the sole reason behind the decision to play on artificial turf from day one."
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