American soccer was against artificial turf long before it became a big problem in the NFL

“Hopefully they can eliminate turf, especially for the pros, just because of the injury risk," said Jim Curtin, whose Union squad will play on artificial turf on Wednesday at Charlotte FC.

Andre Blake (left), Jakob Glesnes, and the Union will visit Charlotte FC and its artificial turf surface on Wednesday night.Read morePhiladelphia Union

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Sep. 19, 2023, 3:25 p.m. ET

The debate over artificial turf fields in the NFL has certainly gotten attention in American soccer circles. But across MLS and the NWSL, there’s no debate. No one likes turf, no one wants it, and there had better be a serious reason why a stadium in either league has it.

Alas, there are serious reasons. The biggest is NFL money at four of the six turf venues. Atlanta, Charlotte (where the Union will play Wednesday), New England, and Seattle host America’s and the world’s football. The NFL and MLS teams share ownership in the first three of those cities, and used to in the fourth.

In the other two turf venues, the stadiums are owned by outside entities. Vancouver’s stadium also hosts a Canadian Football League team (and a slew of non-sports events), while Portland’s has some old infrastructure issues and used to host a college football team.

Every other stadium in MLS and the NWSL uses natural grass.

While there’s only so much the leagues and teams can do about it, there’s been no need for a new opinion for years. Remember when a group of star women’s soccer players took FIFA to court in Canada over using artificial turf at the 2015 women’s World Cup? It has been nine years since the suit started and a decade since FIFA first said Vancouver would host the final on fake grass.

And it has been just about as long since anyone with common sense could see through FIFA’s ploy: Surely they’d never force a men’s World Cup to be played on artificial turf.

It would be a while before FIFA proved that right, but the time came last year. When FIFA picked the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as cohosts of the 2026 men’s World Cup, it quickly made clear that like in 1994, real grass would be installed in any stadium that currently lacks it.

Nor will they be the kind of short-term grass installations that get used for summer soccer events these days, from Concacaf’s Gold Cup this summer in Charlotte to the many big European clubs that visit the U.S. for friendlies. Most players don’t like those setups, either, because the grass tears up and the ball bounces oddly on seams.

Big soccer cities impacted

It’s no coincidence that U.S. Soccer has deliberately chosen for years now to not play its home games on turf or temporary grass, even if it means staying out of some of the nation’s top soccer hotbeds.

Portland and Seattle have long been deprived of seeing their clubs’ stars play for their country. The men and women have stayed away from Atlanta, even though either could sell out Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The men used to visit New England almost annually but have not since 2015.

Also, some big stars who’ve come to MLS have refused to play on artificial turf, including Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Newly arrived Lionel Messi has said he will, but Inter Miami manager Tata Martino rested him from Saturday’s visit to Atlanta because of a packed schedule.

Could football and soccer now find common cause over ditching turf? Though the NFL Players Association’s desire to get turf out of the league isn’t new, it got a lot louder after Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tendon tear last week sent chills through the Jets’ locker room and TV executives’ offices.

Coincidentally, MetLife Stadium is one of the two leading candidates to host the 2026 World Cup final. The other is the Dallas Cowboys’ home — which FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited this past Sunday. He took in the Jets’ first game since Rodgers’ season ended with Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks, and former U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro.

Both venues, and six others that will host in 2026, currently have artificial turf that will have to be removed. If they’re going to do it anyway, might the NFLPA’s campaign help it happen sooner?

One veteran source with connections in both sports said some quiet talks have already started.

The Union’s turn

“Hopefully they can eliminate turf, especially for the pros, just because of the injury risk — and obviously, if there are health risks as well with the ground-up tires [in the turf], that’s a bad thing,” said Union manager Jim Curtin, who played on turf plenty during his nine years in MLS.

“I think everybody would be in agreement that natural grass is the best way to go across all sports,” he added. “Always easy for me to say because I don’t buy the stadiums or do the maintenance or that type of thing. But certainly the sport of soccer, I believe the sport of football as well, is safest played on natural grass.”

For now, Curtin and players across MLS and the NWSL can only hope. And in the shortest term, the Union have to get ready to play on Charlotte’s turf at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, free), in their first visit since last year’s disastrous 4-0 loss that cost the Union a shot at the Supporters’ Shield.

“I think the U.S. has enough money to fix the fields and make everything grass or substitute grass for turf,” said veteran Union centerback Damion Lowe, who likely will start Wednesday with Jack Elliott suspended. “I don’t like playing on turf. I’ve had a lot of injuries from playing on turf.”

But he will soldier on, he said, with much at stake in the playoff race.

“We get paid to play regardless of the conditions — rain, snow, hail, whatever,” Lowe said. “So we just have to prepare ourselves for whatever obstacles come our way, try to beat adversity, stick together as a team. We’ll go down to Charlotte, be focused, and be ready for anything.”

For the record, there are no storms in the forecast Wednesday night. At least that will take one burden off a night that will have enough of them.