Looking for a supplier? Interested in becoming a SAPCA member? Tel: 024 7641 6316 •
www.sapca.org.uk
Barcelona FC forward Lionel Messi plays on synthetic FIFA football turf
FIFA QUALITY CONCEPT FOR FOOTBALL TURF
T
he game of football in particular has been quick to recognise the benefits of the new synthetic surfaces. Both UEFA and FIFA took a keen interest when the first 3G surfaces appeared on the market and in 2001 FIFA launched its ‘Quality Concept’ for what it termed ‘football turf’. In 2004, the International Football Association Board decided to include football turf in the Laws of the Game. This allowed matches between national teams (whose associations were FIFA members) and international matches between club teams to be officially staged on artificial turf.
At the heart of FIFA’s Quality Concept are performance standards for football turf. The international body has used test results, player surveys, medical research and information from the industry to develop its own standards, with the aim of satisfying the most rigorous demands in professional football and further improving the playing conditions and safety of artificial turf pitches. The International Rugby Board (IRB) has also embraced the use of synthetic turf in the official laws and regulations for the sport, allowing the use of synthetic surfaces that comply with the IRB Artificial Rugby Turf Performance Specification, alongside the permitted playing of the game on grass, clay, sand and snow.
working on them, but the demand for syn- thetic turf in the UK will continue to be led by football clubs and other facilities where there is a practical requirement for more intensive usage – for football and other activities – and a need to boost revenue, to help to ensure financial viability. It is inevitable that the argu- ment for synthetic pitches to be used at all levels of football will continue and eventually there will be more regular use of 3G surfaces in the professional game.
MYTH – Players get more injuries on synthetic grass pitches In research undertaken among 290 players from 10 elite European football clubs and more than 200 players from the Swedish Premier League, the incidence of injury during training and match play was no higher on arti- ficial turf than on natural grass!
Issue 1 2012 © cybertrek 2012
THESE SURFACES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO REPLICATE THE PLAYING PERFORMANCE OF HIGH-QUALITY NATURAL TURF SURFACES AND PERFORM MUCH BETTER THAN THE SAND-FILLED SURFACES INSTALLED IN THE 1980S
MYTH – Artificial turf pitches don’t need maintaining If only this were true! In the very early days of synthetic turf surfaces they were often poorly maintained. However, all artificial grass pitches do need some routine maintenance and these costs should be included within the project budget.
Where clients do not have the expertise or willingness to undertake routine turf maintenance, the pitch contractor or other
specialist maintenance companies can provide a professional service.
SAPCA represents suppliers of both natu- ral and artificial grass pitches and has further information at
www.sapca.org.uk about both options. SAPCA also has Codes of Practice for both the construction and maintenance of both synthetic and natural turf pitches – recommended reads for anyone considering specifying, buying, operating or maintaining such sports facilities.
Read Sports Management online
sportsmanagement.co.uk/digital 73
PIC: ©
WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84