Not just golf that is obsessed with the colour of the grass
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/15/football-world-cup-green-grassWorld Cup grass isn't green enough
Native kikuyu pitches are not bright enough for television, but the replacements will be little long-term use to South Africans
Alex Duval Smith Cape Town
The Observer, Sunday 15 November 2009 Millions of Africans have been saying it for years: the grass is greener in Europe. Now the world's football bosses have decided that Africa's indigenous grass is not bright enough for international television audiences.
In a major blow to South African pride in hosting next year's World Cup, stadiums used for top matches have been told to scrap their hardy African kikuyu pitches and switch instead to tender European ryegrass.
The decision comes amid mounting claims that the month-long tournament next June will be a "playground for Europeans'', providing scant long-term benefit to the largely poor country.
"Fifa decided that our pre-grown kikuyu pitch was not uniformly dark green enough for television so we have started again with ryegrass seed,'' said Pieter Cronjé, World Cup communication director for Cape Town where one of the semi-finals is due to be played.
Yesterday, at the startling £400m Green Point stadium in Cape Town, perky shoots of pale green ryegrass were pushing through the soil three weeks after the seeds were sown. But local specialists say ryegrass – a cold season variety suited to Europe – will not stand the test of time and will have to be replaced after the World Cup.
Julian Visser, the grass subcontractor at the stadium, admitted: ''The ryegrass requires more water, fertiliser and maintenance than kikuyu. There is a lot of talk of the World Cup's legacy to South Africa but in reality the priority is the matches next June and July. The switch from kikuyu will be a disadvantage to the African teams who are used to its bounce.''
At Groenvlei grass farm 20 miles from Cape Town, Visser's staff have for the past year lovingly groomed two pitches of kikuyu that had been destined for Cape Town's stadium. It has thick stalks, broad blades and is springy underfoot. One small area is blueish where it has been over-seeded with ryegrass, according to the original specifications for Green Point.
"We were pleased with the grass,'' said manager Rudie Fritz. "Kikuyu over-seeded with ryegrass is what you find on sports fields all over South Africa. The lawns are not a uniform green colour because they are sown with two varieties but they look and feel great. Our rugby players don't mind falling over on this grass, but it seems foreign soccer players do.''
South Africans are watching with increasing bemusement as the World Cup rollercoaster moves in before the draw in Cape Town on 4 December to determine the 32-team match schedule. Fifa has begun firing off lawyers' letters to guard its £600m sponsors' rights. In host cities, special Fifa bylaws prevent "unauthorised'' advertising in "exclusion zones'' around stadiums. Among the recipients has been a Pretoria pub that painted "World Cup 2010'' on its roof, in breach of Fifa's trademark.
The contractor building the rail link between Johannesburg and OR Tambo airport says it will not be ready until the second week of the tournament, unless the government finds an extra 1.3bn rands (£104m). Amid uncertainty over whether new bus routes will be introduced in time, Fifa has admitted having a "Plan B" for Cape Town transport .
Few people understand why kikuyu, a variety that can be found on every state house lawn in Africa, has suddenly fallen out of favour. Buck-passing began at suggestions that the decision had been taken purely to ensure a better television picture. Tournament spokesman Rich Mkhondo said the Local Organising Committee had taken advice from the Sports Turf Research Institute in Bingley, West Yorkshire.
"Ryegrass is better in coastal areas,'' said Mkhondo, adding: "African teams will get used to it, with practice. I grew up playing football with a tennis ball on gravel.''
Richard Hayden, a specialist from the institute, said ryegrass, directly sown, would have been the best choice in the first place. "June is a winter month in South Africa and kikuyu goes yellow," he said. "The decision is not a sinister European plot. We made our recommendations for the purposes of the tournament and they have been followed.'' But Cape Town's winters are wet months. The peninsula is explosively verdant in June and July.
Sowetan columnist Andile Mngxitama said the decision to plant European grass was clear evidence that the World Cup offers "nil legacy'' for South Africa.
"The World Cup is a jamboree which will make money for a few South Africans who are rich already. It serves purely to show the Europeans that the natives are still here to service their playground. Taking our grass away is the biggest insult to date.''