Women's World Cup turf lawsuit: Letter says FIFA misled players

Lawyers representing a group of 40 women's soccer players threatening a lawsuit over the use of artificial turf at the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada penned a letter claiming FIFA misled players into believing natural grass fields would be provided if players opposed artificial turf.

The letter, which was sent to the six confederation presidents and obtained by NBC Sports, includes a 2013 survey showing 77 percent of players strongly agree or agree that "all matches at a major tournament should be played on natural turf."

Top women's stars mobilizing for legal bout vs. FIFA over World Cup turf

The lawyers write that they hope to ensure that confederations do not engage in "improper and possibly illegal" intimidation of the players. 

If their demands are not met, the group of players could take legal action against organizers for violating discrimination laws. The group includes U.S. women's national team stars Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan as well as five-time world player of the year Marta.

- Chris Johnson