Mia Hamm Garciaparra wants FIFA to let the stars of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup show their class on grass.
Hamm, 42, weighed in Wednesday on FIFA’s controversial decision to stage the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada on artificial turf fields. The retired soccer legend told Sports Illustrated that the showcase tournament should be played on natural grass.
“Am I surprised those fields up in Canada are turf? No,” Hamm said. “I understand that. It’s not this negative feeling toward Canada or the Canadian Soccer Association. But this is an opportunity for FIFA to do the right thing. It’s the biggest tournament that these women play in. It’s the biggest stars. And they should be playing on a natural surface. I know I preferred it when I played. These athletes deserve to play on the best surface, because it is a different game (on turf). So I’m hopeful.”
Several leading women’s soccer players filed a lawsuit against FIFA and the CSA at the human rights tribunal of Ontario, Canada. The lawsuit alleges that FIFA and the CSA are practicing gender discrimination by staging the 2015 Women’s World Cup on artificial turf fields. The six prior Women’s World Cups and all 20 Men’s World Cups have been played exclusively on grass fields.
FIFA has defended its decision to use artificial turf fields at each of the six venues, arguing that Canada’s weather makes it difficult to bring fields up to “optimum conditions” in time for the tournament. The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup runs from June 6 to July 5.
Photo by Twitter/@worldsoccertalk
