This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gary Bartley, 66, who is helping prepare the training pitches that Team Canada will use during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been in the industry since 1978, but I’ve never taken on a project this big before. Working on the World Cup is like working on the Super Bowl.
As the University of British Columbia’s head groundskeeper for the National Soccer Development Centre (NSDC), where Team Canada will train during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this is already a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Even after 48 years on the job, it’s still a huge learning opportunity at 66. I’ve had the chance to work with some of the top pitch managers, professors, and educators in the field, and it will really change how I work moving forward.
A typical day as a head groundskeeper
I started in turf care in 1978, when I was a teenager. My first job was on a golf course, and I worked my way up to a superintendent position before moving into sports equipment sales. Through that role, I was introduced to the people at the Vancouver Whitecaps, a professional soccer club that trains at the NSDC, and about 11 years ago, I joined the team at UBC.
When the Whitecaps are training here, which is usually five days a week, I get to work at 7 a.m. Before the players arrive, my team of seven is out on the field cutting grass, repairing divots, and doing whatever prep work is needed for the day’s session.
The Whitecaps usually arrive around 10:30 a.m., and one of us stays nearby to help with any watering needs. Once training is finished, we’re repairing divots, cleaning up the pitch, and preparing it for the next day. On non-training days, we’re usually doing maintenance work, such as vertical cutting or top dressing. Our normal shift runs from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Getting the pitches World Cup ready
The World Cup hasn’t changed our workday too much, but the main difference is that we’ve had to raise our standards and maintenance practices to meet FIFA’s requirements. As a training site, we’ve got to keep conditions as close as possible to the main match pitch to ensure things are equal and fair for all teams.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve gone through major renovations since the Whitecaps finished training here in May. It was a very labor-intensive process. We carried out heavy verticutting, top dressing, overseeding, and re-sodded parts of the pitches.
Working on divots and repairs is physically hard work, and, even more so, mentally tedious. Walking-mowing the two pitches takes three mowers about 2.5 hours, and our staff can cover around 20,000 steps in a typical morning doing that.
Learning from experts has been so rewarding
The biggest surprise has been the level of detail involved. We’re used to maintaining pitches for Major League Soccer, but FIFA’s attention to detail has been eye-opening. They have invested a great deal of time and effort in researching improved agronomic practices and maintenance procedures.
I’ve got to learn about this from leading scholars from the University of Tennessee and Michigan State University, which has changed how we’ll approach our practices moving forward with the Whitecaps. It’s been a really rewarding process.
I’ve also been amazed by the level of detail around the whole tournament, from security to hospitality to guest services. These are areas you take for granted and that were on the periphery of my attention, but it’s become clear how much work goes into staging the World Cup at this level.
It’s a career highlight
My family is very excited and proud that I’m involved in this. I wasn’t a soccer fan before I joined the Whitecaps. Now, I’m still not a fanatic, but I am a fan.
It’s very rewarding to sit and look at a pitch and realize that world-class soccer players will be training on it. It makes you want to make it the best possible.
I got into this industry 48 years ago because I loved it, and I still do. Being as old as I am, it’s amazing to have the opportunity to be involved in the World Cup and put an asterisk beside my career.
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