Engineering Performance: Inside FIFA’s Pitch Delivery Model for FIFA U20 World Cup Chile 2025
- ebasson7
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 23
When 24 national teams arrived in Chile for the FIFA U20 World Cup, every surface they played on told a story of collaboration and innovation. After three weeks of competition, it was Morocco who lifted the trophy, but for FIFA’s Senior Pitch Management Manager Alan Ferguson, the true success lay beneath the players’ feet. This tournament was not only about delivering match-ready pitches but also raising standards, transferring knowledge, and leaving a lasting legacy for Chilean football.
Raising the Bar in Chile
Alan’s first visit to Chile came 19 months before the tournament, and his assessment was blunt: the pitches were far from ready for the demands of a World Cup.
“Despite being a football-mad country, the surfaces simply didn’t match player expectations,” he explains.
“Many of these players come from clubs playing in major leagues like the Premier League or Bundesliga, and they are used to exceptional surfaces. When they go on international duty, the difference can be striking.”
The challenge was clear: FIFA’s pitch management team needed to turn underperforming stadiums and training venues into elite surfaces, working with limited infrastructure and resources. For Alan and his team, such challenges were familiar territory.
The One Team Philosophy
Success in global tournament delivery, Alan says, comes down to people and partnerships. “Any football manager will tell you that building a winning team means selecting your best players. It’s no different for us. We bring together some of the most trusted brands and specialists in turf management, and we work as one.”
That “One Team” approach has been at the heart of FIFA’s pitch delivery model for over a decade. In Chile, the line-up included SIS Pitches, Redexim, Dennis, OBI Sports, World Sports, and LineMark Global, among others, each contributing equipment, expertise, or on-the-ground support. Together, they formed the backbone of a coordinated international operation that extended across four stadiums and 19 training sites.
“All four stadiums were either completely rebuilt or heavily renovated,” Alan says. “That level of work is never easy in countries where turf management isn’t as developed. But the collective knowledge and commitment of the team made it possible.”
Knowledge Transfer and Training
Central to FIFA’s model is education. Ahead of every major event, the organisation hosts a Pitch Management Workshop, where in-country venue teams are trained on the standards, technologies, and equipment they will be using.
“We don’t just turn up with machinery,” Alan explains. “We invest in training, we build capacity, and we make sure the local teams are confident and competent. That’s what leaves a legacy once the tournament is over.”
Companies that partner with FIFA must therefore bring more than good equipment. They need global dealer networks, logistics knowledge, and a willingness to engage in local training. “It’s not an easy world to work in,” Alan adds. “Shipping, customs, and supply chains can all be major hurdles. That’s why we value partners who understand those realities and who share our long-term view of development.”
Upgrading and Reconstruction
The physical upgrades began roughly a year before kick-off. World Sports, led by Andre Amaral, worked closely with the FIFA team to oversee renovation schedules, soil replacement, and surface stabilisation. Monthly site visits tracked progress and ensured the correct specifications were met.
With 24 teams split into six groups and only four stadiums available, two venues were required to host two full groups. Over the past three years, Alan and the FIFA project team have focused on using technology and logistical planning to streamline operations, reducing the number of host cities while improving consistency and efficiency.
“Operating in a single stadium can cost more than two million US dollars,” Alan explains. “By stitching two pitches in Santiago and Valparaíso, we reduced the number of venues needed without compromising quality. For a tournament that can cost upwards of 17 million US dollars to deliver, every efficiency matters.”
To implement the stitching technology, FIFA worked with SIS Pitches through an ongoing research and development programme at the University of Tennessee, part of the build-up to the 2026 World Cup. “The research being done there by SIS and other leading brands has been instrumental,” Alan says. “The insights gained helped shape our decisions in Chile, particularly around hybrid reinforcement and durability.”
Building Equipment Hubs
Once the main reconstruction work was completed, focus shifted to grow-in and maintenance, and Chile’s unique climate brought new challenges. “I’ve never worked in a climate with such extremes, says Alan. April marks the start of winter, and growth comes to a standstill. It’s an incredibly short winter, about six weeks, but during that time, we had to make sure every venue was equipped to maintain surfaces under pressure.”
For FIFA, mowing accounts for around 40% of all pitch maintenance hours during tournaments. It is also one of the most visible operations. “It’s what the world sees on TV,” Alan says. “We’ve worked closely with Dennis since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They’ve been fantastic partners, not just in providing machines but in supporting operator training and workshop setups.”
For many local grounds teams, seeing and using Dennis mowers for the first time was a standout moment. “You can see the pride on their faces,” Alan adds. “That’s what makes these tournaments so rewarding.”
With spring temperatures rising in July and August, growth returned, and attention quickly shifted to the maintenance practices that would define the quality of every surface. Aeration, topdressing, and thatch management became the priority, the kind of routine operations that are second nature in countries with a strong turf culture but far more challenging in parts of South America where access to specialist equipment is limited.
“For three years now, we’ve been developing a solution to that,” Alan explains. “Working closely with Curtis Allen and the Redexim team, we’ve created what we call Equipment Hubs. These are shared machinery bases that allow multiple venues to access key equipment without every site needing to purchase its own fleet.”
Each hub contained Verti-Drains, top dressers, rakes, seeders, and compact tractors, all supplied through collaboration between Redexim and FIFA’s logistics partners. For the U20 World Cup, three hubs were established: one served Santiago and Rancagua, while Talca and Valparaíso each had their own.
“The concept has transformed the way we work,” Alan says. “It ensures professional standards can be maintained even in regions where access to high-quality turf machinery is limited.”
Getting the equipment to Chile was one thing, but ensuring it was used correctly was another. For this, FIFA partnered with Zegers, a family-run Chilean contracting company that already owned a Verti-Drain and several other essential pieces of turf machinery. “Zegers were a great solution,” Alan says. “They employed around 35 workers, at least 25 of whom had the right experience, and they had the means to move machinery between venues. Their local knowledge and commitment made a huge difference.”
For Alan, the Equipment Hub model represents a sustainable legacy. “We’re not just delivering pitches for a single tournament,” he adds. “We’re building capability. Those hubs stay in place and local operators continue to use and learn from them long after the final whistle.”
Local Partnerships and People
Alongside trusted local contractors, Alan’s international pitch management team played a vital role in ensuring consistency across all venues. “We can have the best machinery in the world, but without skilled people, it means nothing,” Alan says. “Our team of 35 to 40 international turf managers brings experience from tournaments all over the world. They’re the reason we achieve the standards we do.”
Among that team were long-time FIFA collaborators Dale Frith and Harry Bradley, both now with OBI Sports. “Dale’s been part of more than six tournaments, and Harry brings top-level agronomy experience from projects like Education City Stadium in Qatar,” Alan notes. “They combine practical skill with agronomic understanding, and it’s exactly the balance we look for.
“Making the tournament footprint smaller and asking more of the pitches means they have to be maintained to the highest standard possible, and that isn’t possible without the turf managers,”
Innovation and Legacy
The Chile tournament also underscored FIFA’s growing commitment to research and sustainability. The collaboration with SIS Pitches and the University of Tennessee continues to drive innovation ahead of the 2026 World Cup, where lessons from Chile will be applied on an even greater scale.
But the most important legacy, Alan insists, is with the people. “When we leave a country, we want the local grounds teams to be better equipped, better trained, and more confident. That’s how you create lasting impact.”
As soon as the U20 World Cup concluded, the FIFA team shifted focus to the Women’s U17 World Cup in Morocco, a sign of how tightly packed the international calendar has become. “It’s the first time we’ve had overlapping tournaments,” Alan says, “but our model is proven. With the right people and the right partnerships, we can deliver consistent quality anywhere in the world.”