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DFB fact check: playing surfaces

Even if costs are subsidised by the local authorities, the construction of a football pitch often presents every club with a considerable challenge. The key question is: natural turf, synthetic turf or hybrid turf? With the "Facts Check on Playing Surfaces" document that was published in December and recently made available in English, the DFB provides a practical decision-making aid when approaching this question. The core of the fact check is a decision matrix that allows clubs to quickly and reliably determine which of the pitch types best suits their own needs.

“There is no such thing as an optimal playing surface across the board; it depends directly on the club, its overall structure and location, and the requirements for training and match operations,” said Dr. Paul Baader, who advises the DFB as a member of the Kommission Fußballinfrastruktur (Football Infrastructure Commission). “With the help of our matrix, clubs can evaluate costs, usability and environmental impact, subdivided according to pitch type. For a club in a big city, the number of hours of use is often more important than resource consumption, for example. Every club is a little different. Our matrix therefore allows individual criteria to be weighted differently.”

1.25 million matches a year

Currently, 127,000 teams compete under the umbrella of the DFB, with 1.25 million matches played annually on around 50,000 pitches. These figures illustrate the need for pitches. The construction costs for a natural turf vary between €380,000 and €480,000 and the annual usage time is around 800 hours. Reinforcing the turf and/or the turf base layer can increase its lifespan and usage time. The construction of a synthetic turf costs between €650,000 and €800,000, and its an annual usage time is around 1,500 hours.

The 14-page DFB fact check is now available in English and can be downloaded here.

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Even if costs are subsidised by the local authorities, the construction of a football pitch often presents every club with a considerable challenge. The key question is: natural turf, synthetic turf or hybrid turf? With the "Facts Check on Playing Surfaces" document that was published in December and recently made available in English, the DFB provides a practical decision-making aid when approaching this question. The core of the fact check is a decision matrix that allows clubs to quickly and reliably determine which of the pitch types best suits their own needs.

“There is no such thing as an optimal playing surface across the board; it depends directly on the club, its overall structure and location, and the requirements for training and match operations,” said Dr. Paul Baader, who advises the DFB as a member of the Kommission Fußballinfrastruktur (Football Infrastructure Commission). “With the help of our matrix, clubs can evaluate costs, usability and environmental impact, subdivided according to pitch type. For a club in a big city, the number of hours of use is often more important than resource consumption, for example. Every club is a little different. Our matrix therefore allows individual criteria to be weighted differently.”

1.25 million matches a year

Currently, 127,000 teams compete under the umbrella of the DFB, with 1.25 million matches played annually on around 50,000 pitches. These figures illustrate the need for pitches. The construction costs for a natural turf vary between €380,000 and €480,000 and the annual usage time is around 800 hours. Reinforcing the turf and/or the turf base layer can increase its lifespan and usage time. The construction of a synthetic turf costs between €650,000 and €800,000, and its an annual usage time is around 1,500 hours.

The 14-page DFB fact check is now available in English and can be downloaded here.