UEFA hosts leading event on new sports surfaces
Wednesday, October 9, 2002
Article summary
UEFA and FIFA are supporting the development of artificial turf at a meeting in Nyon this week.
Article body
As part of the joint efforts of FIFA and UEFA in supporting the development of artificial turf, the annual meeting of the International Association for Sports Surface Sciences (ISSS) will be held on Thursday and Friday at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
Setting the standards
The event will see the launch of UEFA's new Artificial Turf Manual, which is designed to set the standards needed for the use of artificial turf at the highest levels of European football, and receive a progress report on the latest developments in the use of these new surfaces.
Pilot scheme
UEFA is currently working on a pilot scheme to test a number of artificial turf pitches at 'volunteer' professional clubs over the next two years. The results are to be analysed together with FIFA to evaluate the possible use of artificial turf in European competitions from 2005 and in view of harmonising the standards for the benefit of all parties concerned.
Report imminent
A report of this week's meeting will be published on uefa.com later this week.