Football Pitch Line marking

Marking out a pitch might be done the day before a game, mostly on lower league games, or on the day of the game for higher league games or pitches that are being maintained to a higher standard.

Where a pitch has been previously marked out and assuming the lines are still straight, then overmarking in many cases will be quite suitable.

For precision marking, restringing lines for marking will be carried out and this is what would typically occur on higher standard pitches.

There is clearly a difference in time taken for either overmarking or marking out with the use of strings. In the former this might be just 30-minutes, whilst for the latter this could be 2-hours.

A spray line marker or wheel-to-wheel transfer marker are the most frequently used, with overmarking on a weekly basis being a guide minimum requirement, being supplemented by additional overmarking of goal lines, penalty spots and any other worn lines before each game. Higher standard pitches will typically be fully overmarked prior to each game.

The use of GPS controlled line marking equipment (autonomous robots) is becoming more common, with accuracy and consistency of marking becoming more reliable and accurate as technology continues to improve.

Potential loss or weakening of radio signal can be a concern where trees or other obstacles interfere with a signal controlling the robot marker, however, if a grounds operative is aware of limitations of some pitches beforehand then this would be allowed for and only suitably located pitches marked with a robot marker.

Depending on layout and distance between pitches on a multi-pitch site, an average time for overmarking a football pitch might be as little as 15-minutes, but nearer 25 minutes might be more typical. However, setting up and recovery of equipment to store and subsequent cleaning still needs to be factored into overall timings.

The amount of paint used for any marking will vary according to a range of factors including the type of applicator, thickness and brightness of line required, dilution rate, size of paint tank or container, speed of operation, as well as if a full overmark or partial overmark is carried out.

For full pitch overmarking the quantity of concentrate of paint might be from 4 – 6 litres for a high-quality finish.