DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOTBALL PITCH SURFACES
... knowing the characteristics of each surface could make the difference ...
The game of football (proper football) is played on a variety of surfaces today. Ignoring unsual surfaces like sand and other recreational surfaces like tarmac and concrete, there are three basic playing surfaces predominantly used for professional and amateur football ; namely - indoor wood, natural grass and artificial grass (of which there are constant advances). They all have different characteristics and cause the football to behave differently. Factors like traction, absorbancy, resistance and resiliency of each type of surface all go towards making football subtly different.
The indoor football game is normally played on traditional sprung gynasium style floors made of either natural laminated or synthetic woods, or some blend of rubberised cement mix. These types of surfaces are normally highly polished or smooth and so require the use of flat bottom trainers which are non-marking - i.e. where the soles are predominantly flat. Running trainers are normally not suitable as they don't provide uniform ashesion across their contact surface. Also, indoor football will use specialised low bounce, higher density balls to limit their flight and travel when kicked.
Natrual grass - i.e. real grass with medium or thin grade blades grown on a bed of soil - with or without a sand mix - is still the most widely used playing surface for football. While grass types have evolved to provide more durability, the basic recipe has remained the same since the 1940's. Natural grass offers many benefits including good grip, good absorbancy and good response for changes in direction etc. It is also easy to repair and relatively easy to maintain. The downsides are that temparature and weather have a big effect on its playability - extreme cold and moisture make the surface unsuiteble.
The first commercial development of Artificial Grass occurred in the 1960s with the appearance of new synthentic fibres. The first examples of AG surfaces were nothing more than a carpet of plastic bristles on top of a solid concrete base. While it provided all weather usability, it was tough to play on and went on to cause a lot of injuries and friction burns to players legs and arms. Astro Turf was the first brand of true synthentic grasses and is the generic name for the second generation of AG often referred to as 2G. This new AG surface provided better characteristics akin to natural grass.
Modern AG surfaces are referred to as third generation or 3G grass. This new solution provided a better analog for natural grass because it was designed to behave like real grass in all aspects instead of just looking like it. Modern 3G pitches are made from multiple layers of rubber substrate and sand with the actual carpet of bristles laid on top. Furthermore, the bristles are much finer, and softer, bending and flexing just like real grass. A final layer of rubber gromets is then laid on top of the AG surface to add further protection - these are the annoying black pellets that get stuck in your boots!
The continued development of AG technology has resulted in 4G and 5G surfaces which are so close in performance to natural grass that in many countries this has become the preferred playing surface. In countries like the USA, Brazil, Japan and many African states, these surfaces are used for professional matches and for sports like Hockey, American Football and US Soccer these new pitches have been officially sanctioned for use. However, the majority of FIFA and EUFA affiliated countries are still evaluating these new surfaces.
These new AG surfaces and all the traditional options means that chosing the right equipment i.e. football boots to use on each surface will help get the most from them. The guides below provide help to decide what types of boots to use for what surface types and more importantly which boot types should not be used on certain surfaces. Bear in mind that these are only guidelines and if you are in any doubt you should check with the facilities you will be playing at to make absolutely sure that you will be allowed to use your chosen boots.