10,000 signatures reached
To: FIFA Women's World Cup Committee & Peter Montopoli, Chief Executive Officer for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015
FIFA: The World Cup Should Be Played on Natural Grass
While we were not able to convince FIFA to change the playing surface for the 2015 World Cup, we did succeed in getting FIFA to commit to natural grass for all future Women's World Cups, and we showed the world how professional athletes can ban together to demand that women have access to the same playing conditions as men. Thanks to this global effort, women in professional soccer around the world are demanding more -- and getting it. Let's keep fighting and winning!
We, the undersigned, are calling on FIFA to modify the venues for the women's 2015 World Cup games to fields with natural grass.
Why is this important?
----2015 UPDATE---
In an interview with Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach broke news that FIFA leaders assured her that the Women's World Cup would never again be played on turf. She said, “[Valcke] assured us that the Women’s World Cup would never be played on turf again. He gave me his word, which for me, that’s a win. For me, that’s progress.”
Original text:
In 2012, the Women’s Gold Medal soccer match for the London Olympics was the NBC Sports Network’s most watched event in the network's history with 4.35 million viewers. More people around the world livestreamed the women's final than any other sporting event during the Olympics.
And yet, still, professional women soccer players struggle to be given the respect they deserve. The latest insult to professional women soccer players comes with the decision by FIFA to hold the entire 2015 Women's World Cup tournament on artificial turf.
When Abby Wambach -- the 2012 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year -- heard of this news, she noted, "The men would strike playing on artificial turf." And Wambach, who is known for her physical style of play, should be especially worried. The American Academy of Neurology recently reported that concussions appear to be more prevalent for certain athletes playing on artificial turf, and that women athletes appear more likely to experience concussions in soccer than in other sports.
Artificial turf has been blamed for increased injuries on sporting fields, including more sprained ankles, concussions, turf burns, and an injury known as "turf toe." Overheating is also a health concern for athletes since temperatures can be hotter on artificial surfaces than on natural grass. Finally, turf is widely known to alter the speed and quality of play on the field. With all of this in mind, it's not hard to understand why many players feel that being forced to play their World Cup on artificial turf is gender discrimination.
I'm a huge fan of women's soccer. I love going to Washington Spirit games -- where the team plays on natural grass -- and I'm excited to attend the upcoming CONCACAF qualifiers for the Women's World Cup. These women deserve respect for their athleticism and that's why I'm standing up with professional players from national teams around the world who have spoken out and signed on to this campaign as well.
Some of the best soccer players in the world deserve to play the most competitive matches of their lives on real grass. FIFA has the power to modify the venues for the World Cup games to fields with real grass. Do the right thing, FIFA, and give professional women soccer players the respect they deserve.
----Signatures from Players----
More than 70 national team players from at least 17 different national teams have signed this petition to FIFA calling for natural grass in the 2015 Women's World Cup. Below is a list of professional players who've added their name to this public petition:
Abby Wambach - USA
Heather O'Reilly - USA
Carli Lloyd - USA
Shannon Boxx - USA
Ali Krieger - USA
Alex Morgan - USA
Whitney Engen - USA
Ashlyn Harris - USA
Christie Rampone - USA
安藤 梢 (Kozue Ando) - JPN
大儀見 優季 (Yūki Ōgimi) - JPN
Anja Mittag - GER
Nadine Angerer - GER
Annike Krahn - GER
Célia Okoyino da Mbabi - GER
Kim Kulig - GER
Almuth Schult - GER
Laura Benkarth - GER
Melanie Behringer - GER
Nadine Keßler - GER
Lena Goeßling - GER
Alexandra Popp - GER
Babbett Peter - GER
Melissa Barbieri - AUS
Sam Kerr - AUS
Caitlin Foord - AUS
Natalia Gaitan - COL
Melissa Ortiz - COL
Nataly Arias - COL
Stefany Castaño - COL
Eugénie Le Sommer - FRA
Camille Abily - FRA
Wendie Renard - FRA
Sarah Bouhaddi - FRA
Élise Bussaglia - FRA
Louisa Nécib - FRA
Caroline Seger - SWE
Lotta Schelin - SWE
Kosavare Asllani - SWE
Olivia Schough - SWE
Sara Thunebro - SWE
Malin Levenstad - SWE
Sofia Lundgren - SWE
Emma Berglund - SWE
Charlotte Rohlin - SWE
Hedvig Lindahl - SWE
Nilla Fischer - SWE
Annica Svensson - SWE
Therese Sjoran - SWE
Caroline Jönsson - SWE
Anita Asante - ENG
Faye White - ENG
Nora Holstad - NOR
Ingvild Isaken - NOR
Maren Mjelde - NOR
Arianna Romero - MEX
Theresa 'Lupita' Worbis - MEX
Jackie Acevedo - MEX
Renae Cuéllar - MEX
Ana-Maria Crnogorčević - SUI
Noëlle Maritz - SUI
Vanessa Bernauer - SUI
Sandra Betschart - SUI
Martina Moser - SUI
Rahel Kiwic - SUI
Fabienne Humm - SUI
Shannon Smyth - IRL
Ciara Grant (b. 1993) - IRL
Veronica Boquete - ESP
Erin Nayler - NZF
Stefanía Maggiolini - URY
Desire Oparanozie - NGA
Indira Ilić - SRB
Getter Laar - EST
Michelle Akers - USA (Retired)
Linda Hamilton - USA (Retired)
Sandra Smisek - GER (Retired)
