STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) Bulletin October 2014 | Page 5

WORLD CUP
Andy Cole
Director of Services, STRI

fifa

world cup
2014 – brazil
Brazil was host to this year’s FIFA World
Cup, played in twelve host cities across
the length and breadth of Brazil, within
new or newly refurbished stadiums. STRI
provided a fourteen strong team during
the Tournament phase, covering each of
the twelve host city venues and venue
specific training sites plus additional staff
to visit the thirty two team base camps
used for the teams and one referees’
venue. Unlike South Africa in 2010, when
we had full control of pitch delivery,
our role in Brazil was to work closely
with the Local Organising Committee’s
(LOC) agronomic team, the LOC and
FIFA, with ultimate responsibility for
pitch delivery resting with the LOC.
STRI’s team was pulled together from all
points of the globe including Australia,
New Zealand, Brazil, Chile and Ireland
as well as the UK, providing a wide
range of expertise and value to the
event. Technical and administrative

support was also provided from Bingley
as the glue for the whole team. FIFA
was excellent in the organisation of
transport, accommodation and local
administration, as well as providing
firm guidelines to follow during the
Tournament.
Although strong recommendations
were provided for the construction of
the twelve stadium pitch venues, which
included turf reinforcement, vacuum
and ventilation systems, sprigging
and grow lights, not all of these were
adopted, which left a number of
stadiums somewhat exposed. When
you consider that each venue would
host a minimum of four group stage
games; eight associated training sessions
and the semi-final and final venues seven
games and associated training sessions,
the need for turf stability, good drainage
and optimum growing conditions was
essential.

Geographically, Brazil is a vast country,
covering over 3.3 million square miles
with 1,948 miles between Manaus
in the north western corner of the
country in the Amazon rainforest,
down to Porto Alegre in the south.
Climatically, Manaus would expect
average temperatures of mid-80ºF
(30ºC) during the midwinter period
with nighttime temperatures in the
south falling to below zero, providing
a huge challenge to the achievement
of consistency and uniformity
between pitches. For the period of
the World Cup, Brazilian winter, we
were managing two dominant grass
species; Bermuda in the hotter climes
of the country, transitioning through
to ryegrass in the south and varying
“blends” in between. The relative
warmth of the transition zone through
the central part of the country
meant that the Bermuda never really
went into true dormancy and would

Bulletin October 2014 Issue 267

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