Women offer FIFA 'good-faith' proposal in turf war

The proposal is the latest twist in a rolling dispute that picked up steam in August when players said a proposal to play the June-6-July 5 tournament in Canada on artificial turf was discriminatory and violated human rights.

Women offer FIFA 'good-faith' proposal in turf war

(Reuters)





"The battle over the use of plastic pitches at the women's World Cup can easily and quickly come to a peaceful resolution," attorney Hampton Dellinger said in a statement.

"All FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association need to do is accept the players' feasible, affordable, and more than fair deal."

FIFA has previously said there were no plans to change the decision to play the tournament on artificial surfaces.

The players, who filed a lawsuit against football's governing body and the Canadian Soccer Association last year, are now proposing playing all but the semi-final, third-place and final matches on artificial turf.

The proposal lays out how top quality grass fields could be prepared for and installed in each of the three stadiums hosting the tournament's final two rounds.

According to the proposal, the plan is modelled on systems used successfully for previous men's and women's World Cups, and is approved by leading world experts on sports grass.

The tournament's final game will be played in Vancouver with Montreal and Edmonton hosting semi-finals. The third-place game will also be in Edmonton.

"The players continue to believe a women's World Cup should not be singled out for field conditions men's World Cups have never been subjected to," the proposal said.

"But this settlement offer represents a good-faith attempt at compromise."





(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto)


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world