What Does Football Pitch Do?
However, maintaining both artificial turf and natural grass fields is not cheap. The following table represents data regarding the maintenance of an artificial turf and a natural grass field over a year (Natural Grass and Artificial Turf 12). Table of maintenance costs for an artificial grass and natural grass field.
Plus, if one takes into consideration the $500,000 that must be paid every 8-10 years to replace the carpet of an artificial turf field, and the fact that it is at least $250,000 more expensive to implement, then using natural grass ends up being cheaper in the short and long run.
However, with this change, FIFA had to institute two standards of quality for artificial grass fields. artificial pitch replacement. Therefore, they came up with FIFA 1 Star Recommended and FIFA 2 Star Recommended fields, and only fields that have these certifications can be allowed to host international matches (“What Is Football Turf?â€). In order to be qualified as a FIFA Recommended turf field, there are several general guidelines that must be followed, such as requiring the field to have “a minimum amount of maintenance [so that it is] available for the development of players’ skills all year round†(“FIFA Recommendedâ€).
This category is intended for clubs and national federation teams wishing to play competitive matches subject to the relevant competition rules allowing the use of Football Turf or undertake training on Football Turfs.†On the other hand, 1 Star fields are “primarily aimed at organizations wishing to provide facilities for training and community use, although fields meeting this category of performance may also be used for competitive play†(FIFA Quality Concept 4).
A Biased View of Artificial Turf
All of the stadiums at the FIFA Women’s World Cup will contain 2 Star turf fields, and thus will be the best possible quality of turf available. In an official statement by FIFA, they claim that the “the particular geographic and climatic conditions in Canada mean it is more expedient to play on artificial turf.
Then there is the fact that the Olympic Stadium in Montreal is a covered arena meaning that a natural grass pitch would not get enough sunlight. sports pitch. In addition, most of the pitches are also used as multi-sports fields for other sports such as American or Canadian football†(“Artificial Turf for Canada 2014â€).
Yet, there are solutions for these two problems. If natural grass were used for the World Cup, FIFA could combat the cold weather by applying turf growth covers to help regenerate the grass. Some examples of premium turf covers offer the retention of “more natural heat and moisture while promoting deep root development†(“Evergreen Premium Turf Coversâ€).
They confirm that “evergreen [turf covers] will protect your turf from wind desiccation, erosion, frost and winter kill†(“Evergreen Premium Turf Coversâ€). An example of a soccer field with an Evergreen turf growth cover (“Evergreen Premium Turf Coversâ€) (rugby pitch). Next, in regards to the issue of not enough natural sunlight due to having a covered stadium, a solution to this problem is using mobile growing lamps.
Getting The Rugby Pitch To Work
These lamps can be applied outdoors in the winter months, and could also be applied in covered stadiums that don’t receive natural sunlight. Many world-class clubs around the world, such as Real Madrid and Arsenal FC, use these lights to maintain and repair their turf over the winter months (“About Usâ€).
If FIFA implemented both of these technologies, turf growth covers and mobile lamps could easily keep natural grass in stadiums in Canada in a healthy state over the winter. This would allow the grass to be in its best possible form for growth in the spring and for later use during the summer in the World Cup.
This was another of FIFA’s concerns that can be fixed with modern technology. In addition, as a side note, artificial turf fields tend to warm up a lot. In fact, a study was done that found that the average surface temperature of an artificial turf field was 117.38°F on a day where the air temperature was around 80°F.
Even for cold-climate areas such as Moncton (which FIFA is concerned about its ability to grow natural grass over the winter), temperatures in the summer can reach mid to high 70s (“Moncton July Weather 2015â€). Therefore, given the data from the study above, one can expect the average surface temperature of the artificial turf in Moncton during the World Cup to be over 100°F - artificial turf.
The Buzz on Pitch Replacement
After extensively looking at the topic of synthetic turf and natural grass fields, it seems that there is no real benefit to using artificial turf. Economically, artificial turf is more expensive than natural grass. Next, the logistical reasons that FIFA claims for using artificial turf (difficulties with cold weather, covered arenas and use for multiple sports) can be easily remedied with modern technology.
How to cite this page: “Turf vs. Grass†Written by Brian Wolfson (2015), World Cup 2015 Guide, Soccer Politics Blog, Duke University, http://sites.duke.edu/wcwp/world-cup-guides/world-cup-2015-guide/all-about-that-turf/turf-vs-grass/ (accessed on (date)). ——————————————– Works Cited “About Us.†Stadium Grow Lighting. SGL, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. “Artificial Turf for Canada 2014.†FIFA Quality Programme. FIFA, n.d.
23 Apr. 2015. “Artificial Turf.†Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. “Crumb Rubber.†Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. “Evergreen Premium Turf Covers.†Covermaster. Covermaster, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. FIFA Quality Concept – Handbook of Requirements for Football Turf. Zurich: FIFA, Jan. 2012. PDF. “FIFA Recommended.†GreenFields.
2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. “Moncton July Weather 2015.†AccuWeather. AccuWeather, n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. Natural Grass and Artificial Turf: Separating Myths and Facts. East Dundee: Turfgrass Resource Center, n.d. PDF. “One Prestigious Location for FIFA 2 Star and IRB ONE TURF.†Advanced Polymer Technology. APT Americas, 9 Mar.
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