INTERNATIONAL SOCCER
70 days away from home, living in the markets where the stadiums are located. It’ s a more detailed dive-in. Instead of being there every two to three weeks, we are now going to be at each site every two to three days. I ' ll work at headquarters with Ewen, calling all over the country as we will have training going on at 9 p. m. in Portland, for example, which is midnight on the East Coast. Along the East Coast, where Alex and Jason are already in market, they ' re taking readings and talking to the groundskeepers. We need to know exactly what ' s happening with the grass at every single site, every minute of every day— and that ' s hard to do when you are spread out as much as we are.
SFM: What do you most hope to learn from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup leading into FIFA World Cup 26? Appelfeller: We ' ve already learned so much. Like we talked about, it’ s how we interact with the groundskeepers, making sure we have all the information we need, and making sure they have all the information they need. There is so much to be learned from this. Every day is something new, and that ' s my favorite part about the team I ' m working with. This group wants to learn and gather knowledge, and this tournament is certainly helping us for next year.
sportsfieldmanagementonline. com July 2025 | SportsField Management
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