Meet the grounds crew ‘excited’ for the challenge of keeping the pitch at the Linc pristine for the Club World Cup

Lincoln Financial Field will host eight games, seven of which will take place in a span of 12 days.

New sod is on the field Tuesday in preparation for the Club World Cup at Lincoln Financial Field.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

by Owen Hewitt

Published June 3, 2025, 5:00 p.m. ET

To most, watching grass grow is boring. For Tony Leonard and the rest of the Eagles’ grounds crew, it’s the center of their professional lives.

Leonard, the Eagles’ vice president of grounds, oversaw his team on Tuesday morning as it laid the grass playing surface for the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup at Lincoln Financial Field. A group of 20 workers laid down the final dozen rolls of sod on the eastern side of the stadium.

“This was a long time coming,” Leonard said. “We’ve been in the planning stages for this for years. And this is the icing on the cake. We’re excited to get the lines on and get the goals up and make it look like a true soccer field.”

Lincoln Financial Field is one of 12 host venues across the United States for this summer’s Club World Cup, an international soccer competition featuring 32 professional teams from across the world. The Linc will host eight games, seven of which will take place in a span of 12 days.

A group stage match between CR Flamengo (Brazil) and Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia) on June 16 is the first game on the stadium’s schedule. Other teams set to take the field for group stage matches in Philly include Manchester City and Chelsea from the English Premier League, Juventus from Italy’s Serie A, and Real Madrid from Spain’s La Liga. The Linc also will host a round of 16 game on June 28 and a quarterfinal on July 4.

Keeping the grass playing surface in good shape through eight matches in a short span is a challenge, especially since the Eagles’ grounds crew typically works with hybrid turf. But Leonard and his crew are confident in their ability to look after the field.

“It’s a well-maintained surface,” Leonard said. “It’s built to last. We’ll monitor, we’ll keep at it from an agronomy standpoint, keeping the grass as healthy as can be. We’re excited for this challenge.”

Agricultural scientists at the University of Tennessee and Michigan State partnered with FIFA’s pitch management team to develop the sod installed Tuesday at the Linc. The field is a mix of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and Bermudagrass. The sod will be in use at all 12 Club World Cup venues across the U.S.

Elevations and climates will range greatly between venues at the Club World Cup and next year’s World Cup. The different environments led FIFA to develop a pitch that will provide a consistent feel to players, no matter where they are playing. The engineered grass should help players’ footing and keep the roll of the ball consistent throughout the tournament.

That consistency extends to the dimensions of the playing fields for the Club World Cup. All fields, including the surface at the Linc, will measure 68 meters on the end line and 105 meters on the sideline, consistent with FIFA’s recommendation for a professional pitch. For past soccer events, Lincoln Financial Field’s dimensions typically were slightly smaller, around 66 meters by 100 meters.

FIFA standards also required the grounds crew to make some room in the corners of the stadium around where players will take corner kicks. At the Linc, the first four rows of seats in eight sections were temporarily removed. Leonard estimated the removed portions accounted for “about a few hundred seats.”

For the Eagles’ grounds crew, installing and maintaining the turf for the Club World Cup is a preview for the 2026 World Cup. Lincoln Financial Field will host six games in the 48-team international tournament in June and July of next year, including a round of 16 match on July 4, 2026. The sod installed for the Club World Cup is the same consistency as the surface that will be installed for the World Cup.

The grounds crew will pull up the playing surface later this summer, shortly after the Club World Cup finishes its slate of games at the Linc. The Eagles’ playing surface will go back down in early August in preparation for the NFL season.

“This is great practice for all of us,” Leonard said. “Next year, after the football season, I’m hoping to be playing again in late January. … Once we get finished, it’ll be an easy process to transition back over to soccer for the international World Cup.”