NEW YORK - If you're going to spend $500,000-$1 million on an artificial turf field, you should make sure you know what you're getting, according to FIFA.

As the demand for artificial - or as FIFA calls them, football - turf surfaces has increased, so have the number of manufacturers. And not all are equal.

"Companies have promised 'Product X' and delivered something different. That is a concern," said Nigel Fletcher, FIFA's development manager for artificial turf. "There's been a lot of mis-selling."

Fletcher led a briefing by his team at CONCACAF's New York headquarters to a select group of soccer officials Friday that included Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli , answering questions about the world body's latest research and efforts on artificial turf.

"The questions were medical, technical and the potential owner of the field, the potential buyer, the importance of the right decision at the beginning," Fletcher said.

Since 2001, FIFA has approved artificial turf fields. Two years later it played the Under-17 World Cup in Finland on artificial fields and allowed the use of the surfaces for World Cup qualifying in 2004.

It has designated 25 manufacturers as licensees, capable of installing an approved surface, but the field doesn't get FIFA's OK until it goes through a battery of testing after it is laid.

It costs an extra $6,000-$10,000 for an independent testing service to inspect the field, send its report to FIFA and get the certification as an approved field.

FIFA has approved more than 350 fields in stadia across the world, over half of those in Europe.

(Visit fifa.com to see a list of FIFA approved artificial turf fields.)

It also has approved fields for training facilities and local and community organizations.

"FIFA's strategy is that it is an alternative, not a substitute for a good, natural grass field," Fletcher said. "But if it is used for multifunctions, if the field gets repeated use, an artificial field becomes a better option."

It recommends the FIFA approval process, Fletcher says, because studies conducted by the world body have shown no appreciable difference in injuries or level of play between the certified fields and natural grass.

It also suggests the owner of the field receive the proper maintenance equipment and training. That's because while maintenance costs of an artificial surface usually run 15-20 percent of that of a natural surface, a field without maintenance can last less than 18 months.

A properly cared for field can endure for eight years.

"Because there is more demand, there are more questions, more challenges, we have to answer that," Fletcher said. "We've got to make sure that still the most important thing, if club or community goes down the artificial turf option that it is a FIFA certified field."