As the kickoff for the World Cup fast approaches, we track down the strangest, remotest and most striking pitches in the world, from Tajikistan to Morocco and Greenland At 2,000 metres above sea level, the Ottmar Hitzfeld Stadium in Switzerland is Europe's highest pitch. Photograph: Anthony Cullen/Ford Fascinating World of Football
![The world's most amazing football pitches – in pictures](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/63837b4241349b442bc247236746a60b47c576f4/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fi.guim.co.uk%2Fimg%2Fstatic%2Fsys-images%2FGuardian%2FPix%2Fpictures%2F2014%2F6%2F6%2F1402063804774%2F848483ab-09a7-45fc-84ea-bffcdbdd6a8f-2060x1236.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26height%3D630%26quality%3D85%26auto%3Dformat%26fit%3Dcrop%26overlay-align%3Dbottom%252Cleft%26overlay-width%3D100p%26overlay-base64%3DL2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctYWdlLTIwMTQucG5n%26enable%3Dupscale%26s%3Ddcd9d60c83f9009cc936c7fe4f0432c5)