Royalverd works at Azteca and sets sights on 2030 | OneFootball

Catalan turf specialist Royalverd has played its part at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with Mexico City’s Estadio Banorte, better known as the Estadio Azteca, its latest showcase. It is the company’s third World Cup involvement and attention is already turning to 2030 in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, Royalverd posts global revenues of €52 million, including €23 million in Spain, and employs about 280 people worldwide, roughly 200 in Spain. Headquartered in Les Preses, Garrotxa, it also operates in Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Panama and Andorra.

Part of the family-run Grupo Morera founded in 1955, the firm pivoted towards football in 2003 and presents itself as turf engineering rather than general gardening. In Spain it works regularly with around half of the professional clubs, last season serving 10 of the 20 top-flight teams including Girona, Atlético, Espanyol, Getafe and Betis.

Royalverd contributed to eight of the 12 venues at Brazil 2014 via a local partner, then four surfaces at Qatar 2022. In Mexico it has worked at Estadio Banorte and on training sites for América, Tigres and Pachuca, now with its own local structure, investing more than €600,000 and creating a high-performance natural turf nursery of over 20,000 square metres.

The Azteca project features a silica sand base, high-capacity forced drainage and a hybrid system reinforced with polyethylene fibres stitched 18 centimetres deep. The company stresses sub-surface performance, alongside shade management and climate-fit varieties, and is developing sensors, digitised maintenance, AI and water-saving solutions from its Vall d’en Bas hub.

Morocco is central to Royalverd’s near-term plan, with about 10 builds a year and ongoing work at the Grand Stade de Tánger and Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca. It has begun advising future host venues on FIFA requirements, while Spain’s process is still taking shape. The firm is also assessing Saudi Arabia, Eastern Europe, Denmark and parts of Latin America, while prioritising technical control and its home market.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo