How we’re mapping football across Europe

Combining artificial intelligence, open-source maps and satellite images, the UEFA pitch-mapping tool pinpoints the locations of football pitches across Europe.

Developed between the UEFA Grow and our intelligence centre teams, the tool allows national associations to assess football infrastructure and build a clearer picture of facilities quickly and efficiently, identifying underserved areas and locations where targeted investment can deliver the best impact.

The pitch-mapping tool also uses a combination of existing data and artificial intelligence to distinguish between different types of facility, including grass, artificial and concrete pitches, with precise coordinates. Heat maps show pitch density, while the ability to overlay population data allows for even more detailed analysis at local, regional and national levels.

Together, these insights support long-term national association planning, more informed infrastructure decisions and the ability to benchmark provision against other countries.

Pitch mapping is supporting the Albanian Football Association with its long-term planningArmando Babani

Empowering strategic planning

The Albanian Football Association (FSHF) has used the tool to identify where its football and club development programmes can be most impactful, having increased the number of pitches it has information on by more than 30% since adopting the pitch-mapping tool.

"The combined datasets allow us to identify the areas with the most immediate need for infrastructure investment, supporting evidence-based planning," said Dritan Kadia, a statistics specialist at the FSHF. "Especially useful has been understanding where pitches of different sizes are across the country, which helps us understand where we can grow the game."

The pitch-mapping tool provides precise coordinates of football facilities and distinguishes between different surfaces

By integrating the pitch mapper into their national football management platform, the FSHF has been able to ensure the entire ecosystem benefits.

"It has strengthened our ability to plan and manage competitions across the country and help clubs develop plans," added Kadia. "It has also made travel logistics easier for teams, as they can now navigate directly to officially registered pitches."

Revealing the lie of the land

The ability to rapidly discover small-sided pitches has proved valuable to the Faroe Islands Football Association (FSF), too, providing a clearer picture of access to football at grassroots level, especially for young people.

"Since we started using the UEFA pitch-mapping tool, we have identified approximately double the total number of pitches across the Faroe Islands, mainly due to discovering small-sided pitches," said the FSF. "It helps us understand whether children in each municipality have access to a pitch and how easily they can play football."

The pitch-mapping tool has been used to build a clearer picture of access to football in the Faroe IslandsFSF

For the Malta Football Association (MFA), deepening its understanding of facilities across the country – especially in rural areas – has been valuable. The MFA has increased the number of pitches it is aware of by nearly a third, including school and university facilities.

"The tool really helps with finding information on pitches outside cities that we know less about," said Stephen Azzopardi, the MFA's director of business development and facilities management. "It helps us understand where we need to make better use of existing pitches and where more pitches are needed."