FAQ

The basic requirements of a soccer field are:
1. Rapid – Draining (Immediate use after thunderstorm)
2. Firm (providing good footing and Stability)
3. Resilient (Cushioning falls and reducing injury)
4. Dense (providing consistent ball roll or bounce)
5. Uniform (an even playing surface)
6. Persistent (lasting the entire season)
7. Deep-rooted (resisting divots or tears)
8. Wear tolerant (withstanding injury from pressure, abrasion, or tearing/shearing)
9. Compacting – Resistant

The Components of a field consist of:
1. Type of Grass
2. Type of Growing Medium/Root Zone
3. Drainage System
4. Irrigation System
5. Maintenance

The qualities of a soccer field are largely defined by the effectiveness of that field on player safety and performance, on ball response and aesthetic appeal.

To rate a good field we must be able to play safely and the field must be aesthetically pleasing.

Yes, they affect the amount of light available to the field at any given time as well as air circulation. This stunts the growth of grass.

The types of grass suitable for a soccer field in tropical countries are:
1. Cow Grass
2. Bermuda
3. Zoysia
4. Paspalum

A seeded version of Bermuda is cheaper than cowgrass.

Bermuda grass is the grass of choice for most warm-season sports turf surfaces. It meets all the qualities required for the sports turf surface:
1. Strong indeterminate rhizomes and stolons (excellent sod knitting)
2. Robust vegetative growth
3. Excellent wear resistance
4. Good surface resiliency
5. Excellent recuperative potential
6. Excellent selective herbicide program

A growing medium or root zone serves as a medium for turf growth.
Soil operates as a medium for turf growth by trapping nutrients and water and making them available to the roots of the plants by providing space for air to reach the roots, and by serving as an anchor for those roots. It must be matched to the selected grass requirement.

Sand base growing medium is recommended as it has:
1. High water permeability, which allows for rapid surface water removal by internal drainage.
2. A properly designed and installed sand base root zone will protect against a field’s worse enemy: compaction.

Yes, the depth of root zone affects play because a shallow root zone will retain too much water thus causing a muddy surface during the rainy season and during the dry season it becomes too dry and hard.

The crumb structure of natural soils is easily destroyed by heavy traffic. One way of avoiding this under intensively used turf is to grow the grass in specially prepared sand that is reinforced with either natural or synthetic fibres. This is called Root Zone Stabilization.
The low clay sit content of these root zones mixes means that crumbs are not formed. The structure depends on texture. Sands for these mixes are chosen carefully so that even under heavy traffic there is still enough pore space between the sand grains for water, air and roots.

Hybrid turf is a combination of Natural and Synthetic grass to create a field that can be used for longer with lessened risk of bald spots on the surface.

Yes, drainage installation is important as having too much or too little water in a field at any point in time can cause catastrophic damage to the field in the long run and in the immediate future. An effective drainage system allows rainwater to be drained quickly so the field can be used immediately after a thunderstorm.

The important factors to consider in the design of a drainage system is the amount of rainfall, the type root zone/growing medium and surface runoff coefficient.

Surface drainage allows surface runoff during rainfall to be removed from the field effectively.

Sub-Surface Drainage helps to remove the water that seeps below the surface layer into the root zone base layer.

The concept of a perched water table which occurs when a fine soil, or sand, is placed over the top of a coarser material (usually sand or gravel), is a very difficult concept to grasp because it seems to defy logic. Any reasonable and logical-thinking person would assume that water will flow from a fine soil into a layer of course sand or gravel below it. They are wrong. When a fine soil or sand is placed over the coarser sand or gravel and there is a sharp interface between the two, no water will flow from the fine soil into the coarse material below it until a saturated layer is built up at the interface. Eventually, water is forced through into the layer below, but this saturated layer or perched water table will always remain. If the topsoil is too shallow, the depth of this saturated zone, the perched water table, may extend to the surface of the topsoil and the whole profile will remain permanently saturated.

No, water cannot move sideways in clay soil however it can move downwards.

The downward entry of water into the soil is termed infiltration the rate of which that occurs is known as the infiltration rate. The downward movement of water through the soil is termed soil water percolation.

Yes, turf grass irrigation is needed to maintain the soil water content at a water suction level that is low enough to readily satisfy the water absorption requirement of the turf grass plant without creating a significant internal plant water stress.

There are manual, automated and travelling irrigation systems.

The water sources for irrigation are; Ponds, Public Water, Rainwater Harvesting.

Turf maintenance is the upkeep and general maintenance of the field in order to assure the field is always in good condition, can be used for longer, does not cause player injury and can be used effectively during the sporting season.

The basic turf maintenance work involves:
1. Mowing
2. Surface Restoration
3. Fertilizing
4. Deep Spiking Aeration
5. Top Dressing and Brushing
6. Weeding
7. Edge Trimming
8. Irrigation (Watering)
9. Insecticide, Pesticide and Fungicide Spraying
10. Scarifying
11. Repairing Divots
12. Replanting Turf (Bald Area Only)
13. Line Marking

Yes, equipment is necessary to carry out maintenance work, due to the fact that doing so by hand would be inefficient as well as inconsistent and not effective. These machines have been specifically designed to provide the maintenance required of the field in the most time and cost-effective way possible.

Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibres made to look and play like natural grass, when used on athletic fields it provides a consistent year-round, all-weather, playing surface.

FIFA offers the FIFA Quality and FIFA Quality Pro certifications.

Yes, sub-surface drainage is important in the construction of an artificial turf field, especially in tropical climate countries. In order to prevent a series of defects such as waterlogging, infill displacement and infill runoff, vertical infiltration of rainwater is important.

An artificial turf field is made:
1. Sub-base existing soil engineered to receive the system without further settlement.
2. Sub-surface drainage system designed for quick removal of Tropical rainwater.
3. Drainage layer designed to cope with excessive rainfall within short periods and groundwater.
4. FIFA ® approved specially designed and manufactured shock-pad for Tropical use.
5. FIFA® approved Artificial Turf specially manufactured for Tropical use.

Pile yarn Dtex is the weight of the yarn used when making the Artificial Turf.

Turf Density is the number of strands of yarn stitched to the layer of fabric per square metre. The higher the density the more fibres are present in the turf.

Pile Weight is the weight of the turf tufts per square metre.

Pile thickness is the thickness of the centre of a blade of grass.

The best pile height for tropical weather is 40mm because less infill is being used thus allowing for better percolation of rainwater.

Artificial turf has become so popular in the past few years due to the adoption of artificial turf into FIFA as well as its numerous benefits that are almost identical to natural turf. Commercially it generates income to the owners due to longer usage and less maintenance.

The different types of infill material are:
1. SBR
2. Coated SBR
3. EPDM
4. Organic Fibres
5. Silica Sand
6. Coated Silica Sand
7. TPE - Thermo Plastic Elastomer

Yes, artificial turf is safe provided it is FIFA certified. A certified field plays almost equivalent to natural grass fields.

Yes, SBR is safe because it provides shock absorption to prevent injuries to the joints of the players as they perform, as well as protects them from further injury when they take a hard fall.

Heat does not affect an artificial turf field directly however when exposed to direct sunlight the surface temperature becomes significantly hotter than natural turf fields. During middays, it is best to avoid playing on the turf to avoid skin burns. You can opt to irrigate or water the field to reduce its temperature or use organic infill.

No, athletes playing on artificial turf field are not more susceptible to injuries provided it is FIFA certified, due to the several safety features of an artificial turf field, such as shock padding and infill.

Artificial turf fields can be used for as long as desired, however, they are not recommended to be used in the afternoon in order to prevent player injury.

The manufacturer's warranty states 8 years however if maintained properly and used only 40 hours a week, an artificial turf field can last 10 years.

The construction of an artificial turf pitch is more expensive than a natural turf pitch, however, its maintenance costs are significantly lower.

No, all artificial turf products are not the same because they are made of different materials, such as PE, PP or Nylon.

Yes, artificial turf can hold up under heavy usage due to the durability of synthetic fibres, provided it is maintained well.

No, because artificial turf has UV protection to prevent any discolouration.

Yes, artificial turf requires maintenance, in order to keep it clean and prevent injury from compacted SBR which can seriously injure players. Also, it needs to be brushed to keep the surface level.

Depending on the site conditions it takes roughly four months to install a full-size artificial football pitch.

The benefits of an artificial turf field are:
1. Can be used for longer hours
2. Maintenance costs are lower
3. More aesthetically pleasing
4. Is more durable

Gmax testing for sports surfaces is measuring the impact attenuation (the ability of surfaces to absorb shocks due to impact) of surfaces, both Artificial turfs (Synthetic turfs) and Natural turfs. Gmax is the ratio of the maximum acceleration during an impact to the Acceleration due to gravity. It is important to ensure that when players have a heavy impact their safety is guaranteed.

Most manufacturers provide a warranty duration of 8 years for artificial turf provided it is maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instruction.

1. Quantity of Rainfall and patterns
2. Soil conditions
3. Groundwater levels
4. Availability of local construction materials
5. Local technical expertise
6. Specialized equipment