Artificial Grass Pitches at World Cup 2010

Throughout the past week, artificial grass has made its way to a monumental global sporting event, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The highly anticipated event’s Algeria versus Slovenia game debuted close to 20 million threads of artificial turf woven into natural grass blades. The game, held at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, was the first World Cup game played on a synthetic grass field. It was tested successfully in the Under-17 FIFA World Cup 2003 in Finland, but not the regular World Cup soccer event. The stadium in Nelspruit has also used synthetic grass fibers intertwined under natural grass for the playing surface.

Synthetic grass fibers were individually dug a total of eight inches below the surface and intertwined with natural grass roots. This intertwining allows for a durable and full-bodied surface. This strong synthetic grass weaving withstands even the roughest performance and play. The sturdiness aims to prevent sliding and injury. Though it can withstand such vigorous contact, this artificial grass system also has a very smooth surface.

Desso is the Dutch manufacturer that specializes in these semi-artificial surfaces. This surface is known as the Grassmaster system. This system is used specifically for certain types of grass that can stand to be intertwined with synthetic grass fibers. The Grassmaster system is comprised primarily of natural grass (97%), while the remaining three percent are the synthetic grass fibers. This type of grass pitch regenerates faster than that of natural grass. With such an intricate weaving process, this pseudo-synthetic system is quite costly for entire playing fields. Even with the cost, however, FIFA believed that the past pitches needed a more reliable and study surface. Desso is excited about being part of such a renowned international sporting event and getting their Grassmaster system under the feet of such talented athletes. The company, located about 20 miles away from Brussels, has already worked on many English Premier League team stadiums, including Liverpool, Arsenal, and Real Madrid’s training field. It is thus excited to find its way across the globe for such a special event.

Overall, after the games, there has been much debate about the use of the Grassmaster system at the World Cup. The Algerian coach felt that the change in playing surface was extreme to the point of negative performance on his team’s part. He believed that Slovenian team adjusted better to the new conditions of the artificial and natural blended field. The Slovenian coach also agreed that the difference was quite significant for the players to adjust to. However, even with such a change, some of the players found it to be challenging but yet smooth to play on. Another player mentioned that playing and running on the synthetic field was much quicker than that of a natural field.

The emergence of synthetic grass, even partially in the Grassmaster system, is a revolutionary event among the global soccer industry, as well as the synthetic grass industry as a whole. The upfront costs prove to be worth it, as maintenance time and costs are saved throughout the duration of its use. This is another notable example of breakthrough synthetic grass systems within the world of sports.