Real Madrid has a problem with its grass surface at its home stadium. That’s going to provide a massive problem for a couple of NFL teams that are scheduled to play in Spain at the famous Santiago Bernabéu when the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins play in the first-ever NFL game in Spain.
The NFL has been keen on expanding the game worldwide with games already being featured in Mexico, England and Germany. But playing a game in Madrid could be a bigger problem than the NFL realized or should even want to deal with.
During the 2022-23 soccer season, specifically, the grass surface had to be replaced four times. That was due to the debris from renovations to the stadium settling into the grass and affecting its ability to grow properly. Though it hasn’t been proven by data, it’s suggested that the injury problems Real Madrid has had, could be correlated to the playing surface.
The last thing the NFL needs is players getting injured on a playing surface that has had several issues over the last few years.
Real Madrid’s playing surface could shed bad light on NFL’s aim to expanding International games
The grass vs. turf debate has dominated NFL storylines over the last few years. Could the playing surface affect players’ health? There hasn’t been data to back that up, though players made a push to have every NFL stadium feature a grass surface instead of a turf one.
Well, there’s a bigger issue the NFL might have and that’s the playing surfaces for the international games. With the Santiago Bernabéu having issues with their playing surface, if an NFL player gets hurt and it’s been reported that there have been issues with their surface, the league could be under a lot of scrutiny.
Just like the players pushed to get a change to the domestic NFL stadiums, they should make a bigger push when it comes to international games. The players probably aren’t as interested in traveling internationally to play a football game. Now they’re at risk of injury because of negligence.
The NFL has to do better; the players deserve better. The NFL better hope no Commanders or Dolphins players get hurt playing on a surface that has been scrutinized for not being in top-tier shape. It could cause a whole lot of problems for future international games in Madrid.