Dear FIFA, WE WANT NATURAL GRASS.

A group of senators from the United States just joined an increasingly controversial argument over the upcoming Women's World Cup, scheduled for this summer in Canada. The issue here? Artificial turf. FIFA, which is the international governing body of futbol or American soccer, has installed fake grass in three of the four stadiums that are ready for the World Cup. Their reason? Canadian weather outside of Toronto doesn't allow for growing natural grass fields. Check out the players opinion below.

But the players disagree, including huge stars like Marta from Brazil and Abby Wambach from the United States. They've argued that FIFA's unwillingness to do what it takes to give them natural grass to play on is discrimination, because players in the men's World Cup aren't expected to play on artificial turf. Marta and Wambach, along with other players, are suing FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association in Canadian court. Their hope is that the country's strong anti-discrimination laws will force FIFA to allow them natural grass, which they say is safer and more beneficial to fair play.

They now have the support of nine U.S. senators, who sent a letter to FIFA Thursday asking them to work with the players on this issue. In a statement, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said,

"The Women’s World Cup features the most elite female players in the sport, and i is" outrageous that they would be subject to a lesser quality artificial turf. I urge FIFA to do what is right, by allowing our

female professional athletes the same opportunity to play on grass that male players are afforded."

The players are offering a compromise, agreeing to play on artificial turf for the initial rounds if they get grass for semifinal and final rounds, but so far FIFA isn't biting.

Considering FIFA isn't letting nature get in the way for the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar, which is going to require elaborate and much more expensive weather control systems to keep players from fainting after just a few minutes of trying to play in that heat, the arguments about the cost for growing grass in Canada don't hold much weight.

The use of artificial turf is rarel used but some European soccer clubs use it. It was used for the U-17 World Cup (for junior players) in 2007. However, the use of aritficial turf is seen as acceptable for "less official" games but that it's grass-only at the highest competing level. Putting artificial turf down for the Women's World Cup looks like an official confirmation from FIFA that the women's sport is lesser than the men's.

Of course, it can be argued that the women's sport is lesser than the men's in a few ways. It is less popular and less profitable, with very few players that make much money at it at all, compared with the men, who are some of the highest paid athletes in the world. But if the women are ever going to have a shot at growing their sport, it's imperative that FIFA doesn't treat women's soccer like it's less or second-best. It's not as if the female players are demanding the same salaries, endorsement deals, or marketing as the men get. They just want to play on decent fields.