injuryupdate
05-07-2006, 02:12 PM
After a Google search, found that it is 75% KBG (Kentucky Bluegrass) and 25% ryegrass for the stadiums at the World Cup. Was interested after seeing Michael Owen's noncontact ACL injury:
Three quarters smooth-stalked meadow grass, one quarter perennial ryegrass
The lush green turf of the Olympic Stadium in
Berlin
.
Approximately 75% smooth-stalked meadow grass (Poa pratensis) and 25% perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) – that is the mixture used for the turf the ball will be rolling on from next Friday. In all twelve stadiums, a new pitch has been laid specially for the FIFA World Cup.
The World Cup turf must meet a number of requirements: it must offer good ball-roll characteristics, be highly durable and have a lush green colour. As early as autumn 2004, FIFA’s Turf Competence Team joined forces with the German Turfgrass Society and the Federal Office of Plant Varieties to come up with the ideal blend.
A total of 96,000 square metres of turf have been supplied by the two producers in southern and the . And the stadium operators themselves have been left to foot the bill – not exactly a trifle at some EUR 150,000 per pitch.
FIFA stipulates precisely how the turf must look: the prescribed mowing height is 2.8 centimetres and there are two permissible mowing-pattern variants: parallel longitudinal or latitudinal stripes, produced by mowing in alternate directions. The latitudinal-stripe pattern is favoured, however, because it helps referees to tell when players are offside.
How durable the turf is depends largely on the stadium in question. In modern football arenas, where the amount of light and oxygen reaching the plants is inadequate, the turf has to be replaced several times a year. This is not the case with the old type of track and field arena such as ’s Gottlieb Daimler Stadium: there the turf can easily last ten years if properly looked after.
Three quarters smooth-stalked meadow grass, one quarter perennial ryegrass
The lush green turf of the Olympic Stadium in
Berlin
.
Approximately 75% smooth-stalked meadow grass (Poa pratensis) and 25% perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) – that is the mixture used for the turf the ball will be rolling on from next Friday. In all twelve stadiums, a new pitch has been laid specially for the FIFA World Cup.
The World Cup turf must meet a number of requirements: it must offer good ball-roll characteristics, be highly durable and have a lush green colour. As early as autumn 2004, FIFA’s Turf Competence Team joined forces with the German Turfgrass Society and the Federal Office of Plant Varieties to come up with the ideal blend.
A total of 96,000 square metres of turf have been supplied by the two producers in southern and the . And the stadium operators themselves have been left to foot the bill – not exactly a trifle at some EUR 150,000 per pitch.
FIFA stipulates precisely how the turf must look: the prescribed mowing height is 2.8 centimetres and there are two permissible mowing-pattern variants: parallel longitudinal or latitudinal stripes, produced by mowing in alternate directions. The latitudinal-stripe pattern is favoured, however, because it helps referees to tell when players are offside.
How durable the turf is depends largely on the stadium in question. In modern football arenas, where the amount of light and oxygen reaching the plants is inadequate, the turf has to be replaced several times a year. This is not the case with the old type of track and field arena such as ’s Gottlieb Daimler Stadium: there the turf can easily last ten years if properly looked after.