You can’t really blame the CSA for doing it. However, they still did hide the most newsworthy thing about yesterday’s Women’s World Cup scheduling announcement.
It wasn’t that the final would be played in Vancouver – my cat could have guessed that correctly – nor was it that Edmonton would get two of Canada’s three group games with Montreal getting the third (the two biggest stadiums for the three biggest crowds of the group stage).
No, the biggest piece of news yesterday was actually something the CSA isn’t going to do.
They aren’t going to replace the artificial turf in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa or Montreal. In fact, they are embracing “football turf,” with final and both semi-final games taking place on the plastic.
Some Canadians will justify this decision. They will be doing so from a defensive position from cities that have insisted that turf is just as good as the real stuff -- despite protests from players and officials of both genders.
Turf isn’t better. It isn’t close to better. And, the fact that Canada is planning on playing a senior World Cup final on the junk is shameful.
Yes, shameful.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Canada is essentially turning its back on conventional thinking in the rest of the world, plugging its ears and screaming “LALALALA” to avoid hearing arguments about how plastic changes how the game is played, increases the chance of joint injuries, and generally makes this country look like a backwater of international soccer.
And, that’s to say nothing of the double standard that is at play in regards to the men’s program. In World Cup qualifying the men (justifiably) refused to play on the garbage and the CSA accommodated them. Why, then, are they willing to let the women play on it?
Likely because the women’s team makes less noise and is (understandably) just happy to have the chance to play a World Cup at home.
The rest of the world isn’t conflicted though and the outrage is already starting.
Hosting the World Cup is an amazing opportunity for Canada, but only if it does it right. If the tournament goes ahead with artificial surfaces this will increasingly become a story and that story will take away from the play on the pitch. As Canadians we can chose to be defensive about it, or face the harsh reality that it makes us look bush league.
It will cost money, but there is still time to fix this. The 2015 tournament is too important to screw up and that’s exactly what the decision to play on plastic is – a screw up.
Bring grass in. There is NO excuse not to.