Inside the painstaking, yearslong process of making perfect grass for the World Cup

The 2022 FIFA World Cup hadn’t even started when researchers set out to grow the perfect pitch for the 2026 World Cup, which kicks off in cities across North America this month. Long before teams had even qualified to play in this year’s tournament, FIFA hired two teams of researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Tennessee (UT) to develop the turf grass that would serve as the playing field for its most unconventional World Cup to date. Set in three d...