Artificial turf solution for pitch problems

UEFA Chief Executive Gerhard Aigner says that artificial turf could be a future solution to the playing surface problems that are arising in some modern-day football arenas.

ISSS meeting
Mr Aigner was speaking at the opening of the annual meeting of the International Association for Sports Surface Sciences (ISSS), which is taking place at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Joint campaign
The two-day meeting is being held in Nyon as part of a joint campaign by UEFA and the world football body FIFA to support the development of artificial turf. UEFA is also launching its Artificial Turf Manual, which lays down the criteria required for the use of artificial turf in top-level European football.

Facing problem
"Quality football can only be played on a good surface," Mr Aigner said. "In top-level football, the football authorities – and this includes UEFA with the European competitions – are today facing the problem that modern football arenas or multi-purpose stadiums are very much enclosed or even covered, with the disadvantage that grass pitches deteriorate rapidly, do not grow properly or even do not grow at all.

High costs
"The cost involved in maintaining a good natural grass pitch in many stadiums has become exorbitant," added the UEFA CEO. "One solution could be the introduction of artificial turf."

Pilot scheme
UEFA is presently working on a pilot scheme to test a number of artificial turf pitches at certain "volunteer" professional clubs over the next two years. The results are to be analysed with FIFA, in view of the possible use of artificial turf in European competitions from 2005.

Turf standards
"In top UEFA football competitions, such a revolutionary move is only possible if products are available that will come as close to natural turf as possible," said Mr Aigner. "This has prompted UEFA to introduce its own standards for artificial turf.

Competition matches
"We have to make it clear that the high standard set by UEFA applies only to football turf installed on pitches used for UEFA competition matches," he emphasised. "An artificial turf installed on a pitch that misses the UEFA requirements cannot be used for UEFA competition matches, but it does not mean that these surfaces are unsuitable for football on national levels."