MACHINERY HELPING TURF CARE EXPERTS ACHIEVE PERFECTION
FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited UT this week to get an update on the development of turfgrass by UT professor John Sorochan for the construction of playing fields for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
SPURRING INNOVATION AND LEAVING A LEGACY According to Dickson, having turfgrass in domes that will not have direct sunlight has spurred innovation— not just at UT and MSU, but from sports field managers and technology providers throughout the country.
“ That’ s how we found a lot of these different options,” he said.“ But the innovation wouldn’ t have been driven forward without FIFA. It definitely challenged the innovative side of us, and it’ s been very exciting to be part of the cutting-edge research.”
That research will have lasting impact well beyond World Cup 26, and the effect will trickle down to making youth fields better and safer.
“ We’ re looking at health, safety and wellness of players, and I think FIFA is going to create a legacy that is going to raise the bar for future expectations,” said Sorochan.“ So many secondary and tertiary benefits are going to come from this for not just the sports turf world, but the turfgrass world as a whole.”
Said Dickson,“ Once we were able to come up with a solution, to be able to try it out and see the performance aspect has been really exciting. You are going to see a safer surface that performs better for everyone.”
Added Sorochan,“ It all started with the vision of Alan Ferguson, and then FIFA supporting these efforts and bringing Alan’ s vision to reality. That has been a groundbreaking game changer- pun intended.”
John Kmitta is associate publisher and editorial brand director of SportsField Management magazine.
Campey supply market leading, innovative turf care machinery worldwide, we’ re continually researching new techniques and refining existing practices.
www. campeyturfcare. com sportsfieldmanagementonline. com April 2025 | SportsField Management
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