Players withdraw complaint in Canada over Women's World Cup turfA group of prominent international players led by U.S. forward Abby Wambach has withdrawn a complaint over artificial turf fields at this year's Women's World Cup in Canada.
The artificial turf became a contentious issue with the players, who filed a complaint in Canada last fall that claimed the plan amounted to gender discrimination because the men's World Cup is held on grass.
"Our legal action has ended. But I am hopeful that the players' willingness to contest the unequal playing fields -- and the tremendous public support we received during the effort -- marks the start of even greater activism to ensure fair treatment when it comes to women's sports," Wambach said in a statement Thursday.
The players' complaint was filed last fall with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. It named FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, and the Canadian Soccer Association. But neither organization budged in reconsidering the planned surface for the event.
The Women's World Cup will be played in six Canadian cities starting in June, with an expanded field of 24 teams. The final is scheduled for July 5 at Vancouver's BC Place.
"The players are doing what FIFA and CSA have proven incapable of: putting the sport of soccer first," said attorney Hampton Dellinger.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
FIFA's head of women's competitions, Tatjana Haenni, spoke at an event promoting women's soccer in Philadelphia last week and reiterated FIFA's contention that the event would go on as planned.
However, she acknowledged concerns about the turf at BC Place, and plans have since emerged to upgrade the surface before the event.
Wambach was joined in the complaint by several other top players, including U.S. striker Alex Morgan, Germany's Nadine Angerer and Spain's Veronica Boquete.
The athletes have claimed that artificial turf is less forgiving than natural grass, and it impacts their play because of concerns about injury. They also claim that balls travel and bounce differently on fake grass, which also affects the game.
But the overriding issue for the players was equity: No men's World Cup has been played on artificial turf.
Even actor Tom Hanks took up the players' cause, going to Twitter last year to say: "Opinion: Women's World Cup is the best Soccer of the year. Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. Hanx."
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant also took to social media to post a photo of Sydney Leroux's battered legs after a match on artificial turf.
FIFA changed its rules in 2004 to allow sanctioned matches on certain artificial surfaces. A few games at the 2010 men's World Cup in South Africa were played on grass that had been reinforced by artificial fibers.
FIFA rules also state that all matches and practices for the World Cup must be held on the same surface. Canada's bid for the event stipulated that the final be played on the artificial field at BC Place, which seats 55,000.
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