The 2026 World Cup, the largest ever, will be played in three countries and 16 stadiums, organized by geography, not national borders. Seven of the 11 U.S. venues — all but Kansas City, Philadelphia, Santa Clara and Miami — plus Vancouver normally have artificial-turf fields. So for the World Cup, which FIFA mandates must be played on grass, those surfaces underwent multi-million-dollar transformations, with state-of-the-art fields — each with its own root system and irrigation methods — rolled out across the plastic turf. Additionally, stadiums that have corporate names not affiliated with FIFA sponsors — SoFi Stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, etc. — will use generic names such as Los Angeles Stadium and Atlanta Stadium during the tournament.
