SoFi Stadium tests pitch for 2026 FIFA World Cup

The Manila Times

SoFi Stadium tests pitch for 2026 FIFA World Cup  The new pitch that international soccer players will walk on during the 2026 Men's World Cup, co-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada, is unveiled at SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, California. The 70,000-seat stadium, which mainly hosts NFL football games and concerts, will greet supporters for eight matches during the month-long event, including USA's first match and a quarterfinal.  AFP VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe   Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net   Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion   Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  #TheManilaTimes #worldnews  #sofi  #fifaclubworldcup

Transcript

00:00Now, looking in what's going to be 32 years later, and I look at the opportunity that's

00:11going to be put before this U.S. men's national team, and to have your opening match here

00:15at SoFi Stadium on this pitch, you know, it's going to be a dream come true.

00:21Soccer was not a big sport within the United States in the 90s, so there were times where

00:25the pitches were, you know, had football, American football lines on it, you know, that

00:29were playing on.

00:30You had times where the pitch wasn't very good, or maybe the grass was laid down and

00:34it didn't, it didn't come together enough, so there were seams.

00:38That's changed.

00:39Here, I don't see seams.

00:41This is perfect.

00:42This is what you want.

00:43I never had the opportunity to play on the hybrid.

00:47It was just grass, you know, for me.

00:49But from what I can see here today, this is amazing.

00:51Now, 32 plus years later, I expect in another year, we're going to see fans very knowledgeable

00:57about the game, knowledgeable about the World Cup, knowledgeable about every team and even

01:01player on the individual teams.

01:03That roof structure is actually taking 35 plus percent of the sun's direct light out

01:09of the building.

01:10So when you're trying to grow grass without having that direct sunlight, that becomes

01:14a challenge.

01:15Also, being that we are sitting on a concrete surface, and we are a synthetic stadium for

01:20NFL football, building a grass pitch surface that has irrigation, that has subair systems

01:27and ventilation, that has the appropriate light, this is really a location where you

01:31say, that may not be possible.

01:34And we've taken the opportunity to say, we turned the impossible into possible.

01:37And so we have built something that will allow us to have all the irrigation, all the subair,

01:42all the operational requirements that FIFA would like to have.

01:45We have our artificial light systems, the light rigs that you see behind me right now,

01:49so that we can make sure that grass will not only be living in here, but thriving in

01:53this environment for the entirety of our World Cup 26.

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