FIFA Confirms Infill-Free Turf Systems Are Eligible for Certification

A milestone for the sport surface industry — and a validation of the science-first approach that drives Pivot® Performance Turf.

For more than two decades, the FIFA Quality Programme for Football Turf has served as the global gold standard for soccer surface performance. Its purpose has always been clear: to protect the player experience by ensuring surfaces consistently deliver the playing characteristics of high-quality natural grass. Player safety, performance, long-term durability, and consistency are non-negotiable.

Today, FIFA has confirmed that any surface system meeting the requirements of the FIFA Quality Programme is eligible for certification — including systems without performance infill.

For TenCate and the team behind Pivot® Performance Turf, this confirmation is the direct result of years of rigorous, evidence-led development.

Science First. Certification Follows.

Extensive R&D at TenCate’s Center for Turf Innovation, large-scale lab and field testing, and direct athlete feedback shaped every design decision. The science drove the system — not the other way around.

When infill-free systems began entering the market, FIFA took the appropriate approach: not fast-track approval, but a structured, evidence-led research program to evaluate performance and determine whether these systems could be validated within the existing certification framework.

That process is now complete.

What This Means for Soccer Fields in America

FIFA’s decision does not lower the performance bar. It confirms that the same standard applies equally to all systems, regardless of construction. Innovation earns certification when it is proven — not before.

For U.S. soccer clubs, academies, collegiate programs, and facility operators evaluating their next field investment, this opens a clear and credible path forward: consider infill-free systems that are engineered to FIFA standards, validated through independent testing, and backed by long-term performance data.

Pivot® Performance Turf is that system.

About Pivot® Performance Turf

Pivot® is TenCate’s next-generation, infill-free synthetic turf system engineered to replicate the traction, response, and feel of high-quality natural grass. Developed across more than 57 design iterations, benchmarked against 145+ natural grass references, and validated with data from 1,100+ athletes and 26,000+ surface measurements, Pivot® is built on one of the most extensive performance development programs in the synthetic turf industry.

Pivot® supports 24/7/365 play and is backed by a 12-year system warranty for outdoor installations.

“This is how standards should evolve — carefully, based on data, and without compromising what the game demands from its surfaces.”

Learn more about Pivot® Performance Turf at pivot-turf.com or explore TenCate’s full portfolio of innovative turf systems at tencategrass.us