Graduate Students Jack Guevara, Ryan Bearss and Jake Kilby present Turfgrass research at conference abroad
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EmailDevelopment of a shallow turfgrass profile – a temporary natural field system that will be used in the 2026 FIFA World Cup games – was the topic for this turf team at the Int'l Sports Engineering Assoc Conference in United Kingdom.
FIFA 2026 will be here soon! And the MSU Turfgrass team will be ready!
Do you love soccer? Then you probably know that FIFA world cup soccer is coming to the Americas in 2026. Yes, “FIFA World Cup 26” will be held in North America from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The MSU Turfgrass program together with the Turfgrass Science and Management program at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, were selected by FIFA to develop the playing surface for the tournament.
The tournament will be the first to be hosted by three countries, Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and the first to be held in North America since 1994. It will also be the largest FIFA World Cup ever, with 48 teams competing in 104 games across 16 cities.
“Yes, we’re dealing with 16 stadiums, each with its own unique challenges. The variety of demands and the need for uniformity and consistency are making this project both interesting and challenging,” said Jack Guevara, an MSU Turfgrass grad student working full-time to develop the best field for the tournament.
Five of these stadiums are domed, with artificial turf fields over a hard, impermeable surface. “FIFA mandated that all games be played on natural turfgrass, so we need to find a way to temporarily convert the stadiums with artificial fields to meet that requirement.” said Jack, who presented her work on “Assessing drainage mats for a shallow profile football pitch.” The MSU/UT team is developing a temporary, ready-to-play surface that can be easily moved in and out of stadiums.
Ryan Bearss presented his work on “the potential of shock pads in natural turf systems temporarily converted for stadiums,” and Jake Kilby discussed his project “Variations in surface hardness in response to simulated traffic between stabilized cool-season turf systems.”
