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.
Bartley has been in the turf care industry since 1978, when he was a teenager. His first job was on a golf course, and he worked his way up to a superintendent position before moving into sports equipment sales. Through that role, he was introduced to people at the Vancouver Whitecaps, a professional soccer club that trains at the NSDC, and about 11 years ago he joined the team at UBC.
When the Whitecaps train at the site, usually five days a week, Bartley leads a seven person crew on a typical 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift. His team is out on the field by 7 a.m. cutting grass, repairing divots, and handling prep work before the players arrive. The Whitecaps usually arrive around 10:30 a.m., and one staff member stays nearby to help with any watering needs. After training, the crew repairs divots, cleans up the pitch, and prepares it for the next day. On non training days, the team does maintenance work like vertical cutting or top dressing.
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.
Since the Whitecaps finished training at the site in May, Bartley's team has carried out major renovations to meet FIFA requirements for a training site that mirrors match pitch conditions. The work included heavy verticutting, top dressing, overseeding, and re sodding parts of the pitches.
It was a very labor-intensive process.
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 staff can cover around 20,000 steps in a typical morning doing that.
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.
Bartley has learned about improved agronomic practices and maintenance procedures from leading scholars at the University of Tennessee and Michigan State University.
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.
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.
He has also been struck by the level of detail around the broader tournament, from security to hospitality to guest services.
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.
Bartley was not a soccer fan before joining the Whitecaps, but he is now. He says his family is very excited and proud that he is involved.
My family is very excited and proud that I'm involved in this.
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.
