2015 Women’s World Cup to be Played on Turf: Discrimination against women? #RESM560v

The 2015 Women’s World Cup is to be played in Canada on turf grass rather than natural grass as the men’s World Cup was played on this past summer. Female professional soccer players from across the globe are outraged at how the women are being treated compared to the men. Additionally, the past 20 Men’s World Cups have been played on natural grass, so why cannot FIFA find natural grass for the women to play on?

FIFA claims that there is a need to play on turf grass. Eric Harrison, a field expert hired by FIFA, said,

A late winter would bring incredible pressure to bear on preparing such grounds for the Women’s World Cup. The majority of stadiums in Canada have accepted that only (artificial) turf is a credible surface to meet the demands of the weather and usage to which they wish to subject the fields.

While this explanation seems perfectly logical, others are calling it as an excuse. Kevin Baxter, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, points out that,

Winters are also severe in Germany and Sweden, and both countries have hosted women’s world championships on grass fields.

So FIFA’s claim may not be as solid as they believe it to be. Abby Wambach, player for the US Women’s National Team, believes it has nothing to do with winter weather at all. Wambach said,

This is an issue with FIFA, and, I think, money, and a gender discrimination issue, hands-down. The men’s World Cup will never be played on an artificial surface.

Many are also claiming that FIFA can correct this discrimination by changing the venues and the playing surface to natural grass. In an article written for the New York Times, writer Juliet Macur notes that FIFA is coming off the men’s World Cup where they netted an estimated $2 billion in Brazil. Changing venues in Canada would be costly but it appears that FIFA may be able to shoulder that expense rather easily.

In order to fight for their right to equal playing fields and treatment, 60 women soccer players have sued FIFA for discrimination. Players are also threatening to boycott the Women’s World Cup if FIFA does not find natural grass stadiums for the women to play on.

Although it will be a long time before the courts decide on the outcome of the discrimination suit, there are legitimate concerns regarding safety that seem to be overlooked. Kobe Bryant retweeted a picture of Sydney Leroux’s, forward for the US Women’s National Team, injuries sustained from playing on artificial turf. Interestingly, the tweet has since been deleted from Leroux’s Twitter account. It is not clear why Leroux deleted the tweet or who, if anyone, asked her to take it down. Perhaps FIFA required her to take the tweet down as they try to suppress the concern of discrimination regarding artificial turf fields.