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USMNT on familiar ground at Qatar World Cup
The United States will be playing on home turf when they face England, Wales and Iran at the World Cup … as host nation Qatar will use American grass to ensure the pitches at the eight venues can withstand the rigours of the month-long tournament.
Seven new stadiums have been built for the World Cup, which begins with the hosts facing Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium on Nov. 20. The 80,000-capacity Lusail Stadium will become the final new ground to open its doors on Friday when Saudi champions Al Hilal and Egyptian Premier League winners Zamalek meet in a friendly. With the World Cup less than three months away, sources told ESPN that tournament organisers will begin to remove existing playing surfaces and sow the pitches at the seven new stadiums and the already-built Khalifa International Stadium with American grass seed from the start of next week.
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The seed, developed by a Georgia-based company, has been selected by FIFA, who have instructed Qatar 2022 organisers to use it for playing surfaces at all stadiums and training grounds.
“The American grass seed gives you a more robust playing surface,” David Graham from Aspire Turf, who are responsible for the Qatar 2022 pitches, told ESPN. “With the climate and conditions in Qatar, the playing surface wouldn’t hold together without the right grass seed.
“From next week onwards, we will start to skim off the pitches already in place and seed them all to be ready for the tournament in November.”
Although Qatar 2022 will be the first World Cup to be staged in a northern hemisphere winter to avoid the searing summer heat in the Middle East, air conditioning will still be used to cool stadiums, both on the pitch and in the stands. Vents at seat level will ensure that supporters are able to watch games at 21-22 degrees Celsius (69-71 F), while larger units at pitchside will regulate temperatures for the players, with underground sensors measuring heat and humidity to keep the on-field temperature at an optimum level. — Mark Ogden
