When Lionel Messi and the world’s elite players take the field for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 World Cup, they’ll be playing on scientifically perfected grass. FIFA has partnered with turf grass scientists at Michigan State University and the University of Tennessee to create uniform natural grass fields across 16 cities in three countries, using cutting-edge technology including a machine that mimics player cleat impacts and high-speed cameras to test ball bounce consistency.
The ambitious project involves replacing artificial turf at eight US stadiums with specially-grown hybrid grass transported by refrigerated trucks. Scientists are working to eliminate the bouncy “trampoline effect” that plagued some venues during the 2024 Copa America, ensuring that whether players are in Miami, Mexico City, or Boston, the field feels exactly the same under their feet. To read the whole story, click here.
This story is sourced from the Miami Herald.
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About the MSU Innovation Center:
The MSU Innovation Center combines research partnerships, technology transfer, and startup support for MSU faculty who aim to see their research applied to make the world a better place.
Composed of Business Connect, MSU Technologies, and Spartan Innovations, the MSU Innovation Center aims to amplify the impact of faculty research and drive economic growth while positively impacting society to solve real-world challenges with cutting-edge ideas.
Through mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships with the private sector, we connect MSU faculty with companies for corporate-sponsored research collaborations. We also play a key role in facilitating the commercialization and public use of technologies and copyrightable materials, moving MSU’s innovations from the lab to the marketplace. Importantly, we provide significant support for faculty entrepreneurs in establishing startup companies based on technologies developed at MSU.