Blatter Wants Artifical Turf at World Cup 2010. No, Seriously.

More worrying noises from Sepp Blatter’s mouth yesterday, when he suggested that World Cup 2010 matches in South Africa could be played on artificial turf instead of grass. He’s also floating the idea of future Africa Cup of Nations games being played on plastic pitches too.

“We have envisaged, though it’s not yet a final decision, that the 2010 World Cup could be played on artificial turf,” Blatter told BBC Sport. “I think it’s now time in this region to think about artificial turf.”

As we all know, Blatter averages about one wacky idea a week. But let’s hear him out on this one. His general theory seems to be that conditions in Africa are badly affected by rainy and dry seasons, and he points to the state of the Accra pitch as evidence.

“What I’ve not not liked so much is the turf, especially in Accra – the grass is too high. Artificial turf is a solution to the owners of stadiums – you can use it more than just once a week, you can use it for other sports. I think it’s better than uneven ground, where control of the ball not easy.

It’s true that the Accra pitch was a mess, but surely it’s too soon to give up on grass and start playing Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup 2010 games on the fake stuff. Maybe instead of encouraging artificial turf FIFA could invest some of its many moneys into improving the standard of surfaces like Accra. African football has gained so much respect in recent years, and after a mostly brilliant Africa Cup of Nations it would be a disaster for Africa to became known as the continent that plays on plastic. It’s bad enough when MLS teams do it.

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