Maintenance of Facilities

Football Pitch Maintenance

Introduction

Football is typically played on a rectangular pitch with the following sizes:

• Length from 90 - 120m,
• Width from 45 - 90m, although it is unlikely many will be more than 70m in width.

An average sized pitch will be some 6000 m² (100m x 60m).

The playing season can commence anytime from the beginning of August to the beginning of September, depending upon which league it is. The season typically ends with the playing of the various Cup finals in early to the middle of May.

Quality

Pitches should ideally be :

• even throughout, with no undulations or depressions;
• firm, giving good grip (traction) for players and adequate bounce of the ball;
• covered with a dense sward of desirable grasses;
• well drained;

To ensure that a football pitch is maintained correctly, not only during the playing season but throughout the whole of the year, a number of individual performance standards are likely to be set. The combination of these standards determines the overall quality of the football pitch.

Diagram to Illustrate Quality and Individual Standards

The setting of these performance standards provides a means of objectively assessing the quality of the football pitch.

Most users wish to have a first class football pitch, however, the true cost in materials, machinery and especially the skills of a qualified and experienced groundsman do not come cheap. Realistically the aim is for a football pitch which plays well and provides for a safe contest and is managed in a cost-effective manner.

The actual maintenance cost for a football pitch will depend on a number of variables, in particular what is actually included within the so called true cost as some costs are hidden within other charges, especially when comparing local authority costs. A like for like comparison can be notoriously difficult to achieve.

Unlike fine turf areas, which will have fairly similar maintenance inputs, football pitches will vary considerably in standards and the maintenance input required because they can range from a general kick about area to a professional football pitch.