CANADIAN SOCCER STAR KYLE ENTERS CONTROVERSY OVER WC TURF

For the past year, FIFA and Canada’s soccer association has battled withering criticism that the world’s best women’s soccer players are being discriminated against because next year’s Women’s World Cup will be played on artificial turf instead of grass, which is used for the men’s premier tournament.

Now, the company that makes the turf for the Women’s World Cup has landed a crucial ally: one of Canada’s top soccer players, who’s being accused of putting her own self interest ahead of the safety of other players.

The commercial may show Kyle playing football on the turf, with a football player playing soccer, highlighting FieldTurf’s versatility.

Kyle’s endorsement deal comes as a group of more than 40 national-team players from at least 12 countries–none of the players are Canadian – are demanding that FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association drop plans to use artificial turf at next year’s work cup, which runs from June 6 to July 5.

Instead, the players want to have grass installed, arguing that playing on artificial turf during the world cup is tantamount to gender discrimination since no men’s world cup final tournament has ever been staged on artificial turf.

Scott said other prestigious tournaments have been played on artificial turf with no problems, including the Under-20 Women’s World Cup that was played in Canada last year.

Brant Feldman, Kyle’s agent, said the New York Giants play on FieldTurf and, “if an NFL player can do it why can’t a female soccer player do it?” Today, every Canadian Football League team plays on turf, roughly half of the NFL’s teams play their home games on turf, including five who play on FieldTurf, and four Major League Soccer teams play on artificial turf.

lawyer working with players opposed to playing on FieldTurf at the Women’s World Cup, dismissed Kyle’s endorsement.

“The fact that FieldTurf is paying a player to say something positive about artificial turf doesn’t undermine the condemnation from players around the world,” Dellinger told TSN.