Football Pitch Pitch preparation

Appropriate pitch preparation is needed to ensure that a pitch is safe to play on and meets the requirements of the Laws of the game is essential prior to each match.

This will typically consist of the following, along with some generic timings:

• Marking out bright, uniform and straight white lines is essential if a pitch is to be prepared in accordance with the laws of the game. (¾-hour).

• Making sure goal posts are secure and that nets are correctly affixed to the posts and cross bars: this is a key safety requirement as well as a playing requirement. Put out flags. (½-hour).

• Remove all surface debris, both hard litter such as bottles and cans, and soft litter such as paper, sweet wrappers and dog faeces. This will typically be a general walk over the pitch in a zig-zag pattern to gauge what is needed, and timings could be quite variable depending on pitch location. (½-hour).

• Make sure the grass height is appropriate for the standard of play. This should have been confirmed well beforehand with the grass surface having been cut at least the day before in most (non-professional) cases.

• Check the surface for any damage, such as rabbit scrapes, mole runs / hills, or vandalism, and repair as needed to make any hazardous situation safe. (Included in timings above, but time for repair work could be quite variable, so allowance for typical local conditions need to be factored into plans).

• If small localised areas of the surface are wet and/or relatively bare to bare in ground coverage, then a hand forking and application of sand to help dry the areas might be considered to ensure the pitch is presented in a playable condition. If most of the pitch is too wet and waterlogged, then this is not a realistic proposition. (This requirement will typically increase as the season progresses into the winter: autumn: ½-hour; winter: 1-hour; spring: ½-hour).

• Make sure any surrounding barriers are secure, undamaged and safe. (Included in pre-match checks above).