Michigan State grows grass science for FIFA World Cup

MSU professor Trey Rogers helped pioneer indoor natural grass for the 1994 World Cup
FIFA tapped Rogers again to create consistent turf across the 16 stadiums hosting the 2026 World Cup
Rogers and his team created a “recipe” to ensure safe transportation and installation of the turf at each stadium

Thirty-four years ago, FIFA called on Trey Rogers to help do something that had never been done before: Create a natural grass soccer surface inside a domed stadium.

Two years later, when the 1994 World Cup came to Detroit, Rogers and his team at Michigan State University created a “revolutionary” system to make turfgrass portable, so it could be transported to the Pontiac Silverdome.

Fast forward to 2026, and Rogers and his team at MSU are at it again.

With grant funding from FIFA, MSU and the University of Tennessee are supplying turfgrass — often a combination of bluegrass and rye — for pitches in 16 cities across the US, Canada and Mexico that will host 104 World Cup soccer matches, starting June 11.

“For the past six weeks, I’ve been either visiting sod farms as they’re preparing to send their sod to their respective stadiums, or I would go to a stadium and watch the sod be installed,” Rogers told Bridge Michigan.

“It’s kind of fun because we’re utilizing new technology.”

A Close-up view of the layers of MSU turfgrass. (Courtesy of Michigan State University/Nick Schrader)

The turfgrass they provide will be seen on televisions around the world, but there’s also a lot going on underground at each field, including a vacuum and ventilation system, gravel for drainage, 12 inches of sand for roots and a plastic fiber carpet to strengthen the sod.

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Exact specifications — including the mix of grasses — depend on the venue where the matches will be played and the local climate, as Rogers and colleagues attempt to provide consistency for the world’s best soccer players, regardless of where their matches are held.

It’s a full-circle moment for Rogers, who is again working with John Sorochan, a former student of his at MSU who is now a professor of Turfgrass Science and Management at the University of Tennessee.

Bridge Michigan spoke with Rogers about his work, and what it’s like partnering again with FIFA and Sorochan three decades later.

How exactly is the turf created?

We came up with a recipe of a particular species, bluegrass and ryegrass, which allows us to grow this in a short period of time. Then it’s transferred out to the eight sod farms across North America. Then, the farms will plant the recipe into a sod system that we call sod on plastic, in which you would take your soil or sand, spread it out over the plastic as you would icing on a cake, and then (put) seed down into it. Once the roots grow through and hit the plastic, it’s strong enough to harvest.

We want to harvest an intact plant that has roots because you don’t have to spend any energy regenerating and it can be immediately played upon. In this situation, we knew that sod on plastic was our best bet because in some cases, we had to grow sod in Colorado that then needed to be transported to stadiums in Atlanta, Houston and Dallas. The only way to make that happen is to ensure that the plants are under no physiological stress.

msu turf grass — Michigan State and the University of University of Tennessee worked with FIFA to install turfgrass at 16 stadiums for the 2026 World Cup. (Courtesy of Michigan State University)

What are you doing to ensure that the turf is the same across each stadium?

What we do is make sure that the turf is cut at the same height and that the ball has the same reaction on each field. The other important thing is making sure the players have confidence in the surface that they’re playing on. We’re aiming to provide uniformity across all the different environmental conditions that these stadiums present so that the players are able to have some level of predictability once they step on the turf.

What types of tests are done before the turf is installed at each stadium?

Sometimes we use the players themselves to test the turf. Most of the time, we have devices that have been developed through testing and research, just like in other industries, to make sure it meets industry standards. For example, FIFA has standards for ball bounce and the traction of the turf. So, John and his colleagues developed a really cool machine that measures ground reactive forces and that was something that was very key for us to know we are heading in the right direction.

Trey Rogers msu turgrass fifa — MSU turf grass specialist TreRogers and Gillette Stadium field superintendent Ryan Bjorn walk the pitch in Boston. (Courtesy of Michigan State University/Derrick L. Turner)

What did you do differently this time around that you didn’t do in 1992?

We didn’t invent sod on plastic. It’s been around for 40 years, we just perfected it a bit. So, we asked a few sod farms to learn how to grow it. Sod on plastic is unique to the United States; it’s not something that you will see utilized in any other country in the world. This is one of the techniques that has been perfected here in the US. I predict that after this World Cup, it will be utilized by other countries.

I have a little bit more understanding of the turfgrass industry as a whole and I think that probably is something that FIFA very much benefits from. I’m honored that I was asked to participate again.

How does it feel to work alongside your former student who you worked with in 1992?

There was a young man who was an undergrad at the time named John Sorochan and he was on the project as a laborer. This really inspired him to go to graduate school, which he did and he worked for me through his master’s and a PhD during the 90s. Then in the early 2000s, he joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee, where I’m happy to tell you he has built a world-class program. Fast forward to 2019, when FIFA recognized that they’re coming to North America, John began meeting with Alan Ferguson (senior pitch management manager for FIFA) and that’s where the relationship started. John immediately reached out to me and MSU, and it came as a very pleasant surprise.