Sounds like Messi is fine playing Vancouver Whitecaps on BC Place turf

Lionel Messi says he has no problem playing on artificial turf.

Needless to say, that’s great news for local soccer fans hoping to see him play in Vancouver one day.

Ever since news broke that Messi was coming to Major League Soccer, fans have been wondering if we’d ever seen him play at BC Place, playing against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Speaking to reporters ahead of tomorrow’s Leagues Cup Final, Messi was asked about his willingness to play on artificial turf — a surface that’s not commonly used for high-level soccer outside of North America. Many wondered aloud if the 36-year-old would balk at playing on turf due to the risk of injury. It appears not.

“The truth is my youth was spent on artificial turf, my whole life was on that pitch,” Messi said in Spanish. “Truth is it’s been a while since I’ve played on artificial turf, but I have no problem adapting myself again.”

French soccer legend Thierry Henry famously skipped playing in Vancouver, allegedly because of BC Place’s artificial turf field, when he suited up for the New York Red Bulls in MLS from 2010 to 2014.

But many more star players have played at BC Place, notably Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Andrea Pirlo, and David Beckham.

Leo Messi has no problem with playing on turf. 👀

Atlanta StubHub about to blow up. 📲 pic.twitter.com/b4ZKjXJbc3

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 17, 2023

Vancouver is one of six MLS teams that play home games on artificial turf. The others are the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, New England Revolution, Charlotte FC, and Atlanta United.

A grass field will eventually be installed at BC Place, ahead of Vancouver hosting matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Perhaps the Whitecaps will benefit from that at some point, though it is expected to be temporary.

When might Messi play in Vancouver?

Just when Messi might play in Vancouver is up in the air.

Messi’s team, Inter Miami CF, won’t play the Whitecaps this season unless they meet in the MLS Cup Final. There’s no guarantee they would play Vancouver next season either because Miami is in the Eastern Conference.

With a growing league of 29 teams, MLS has an increasingly imbalanced 34-game schedule. Just three teams from the East visit Vancouver annually, with one being a Canadian rival in Toronto FC or CF Montreal.

The good news is that since entering MLS in 2020, Inter Miami has never played the Whitecaps. So they’re due for a match — hopefully in Vancouver.

A visit by the Argentinian soccer star would surely sell out all 54,500 seats at BC Place.

There are two other ways that Messi could visit Vancouver, and that’s through the Leagues Cup and the Concacaf Champions Cup (formerly known as Concacaf Champions League).

The Leagues Cup is divided by east and west, so it’s only possible for Vancouver and Miami to meet in the final.

The much more realistic chance of seeing Messi at BC Place is through the Concacaf Champions Cup. The Whitecaps qualified for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup in June by virtue of winning the Canadian Championship. Miami booked their ticket into next year’s tournament earlier this week by virtue of securing a top-two finish in the Leagues Cup.

A total of 27 club teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean will participate in the Champions Cup. The tournament uses a “direct elimination knockout stage” format, with home-and-home matchups. That means that if the Whitecaps draw Inter Miami, they’ll play once in Vancouver and once in South Florida.

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