Preparing Pitches for the FIFA 2010 World Cup

Dr A S Schoeman When this FWC tournament was awarded to , surprisingly ….. Fortunately, and hopefully not too late, We have now been woken up to ….. ….. the immense task at hand! So much so, that it could be almost too large to handle. In the process, we have had, and still will have, some obstacles Whilst there may well be some international apprehension (doubt) as to the capability of producing quality pitches in Africa ….. ….. we have, incidentally, noticed some other “also not - so-up-to-standard pitches” elsewhere, in so-called “first-world” countries! (Germany) We (in RSA) are nonetheless, confidently and proudly committed to the successful staging of the 2010 FWC - on pitches which will be equal to that required from such a prestigious event.

South Africa statistics

• Capital - People (millions) • 11 official languages • 8.8 • 79.3% black • 3.6 • 9.1% white • 3.2 • 9.0% coloured • Pretoria 2.4 • 2.6% asian • 1.5 • Population 50 million • 0.7 • 1 221037 km 2

South Africa 10 576 000 spectators 64 matches 15 Venue specific training pitches 32 Team Base Camps 3 Referee pitches High Definition Tele vision

Average winter temperatures ( °C) in South Africa

CITY Max Min CapeTown 18 7 Port Elizabeth 20 9 Durban 23 11 Johannesburg 17 4 Pretoria 20 5 20 4 Nelspruit 23 6 Bloemfontein 17 -2 21 5 Cape Town

70 000 seats.

semi-final Durban:

70 000 seats.

quarter and semi- final Port Elizabeth: NMB Stadium

(Nelson Mandela Bay) 46 000 seats. Johannesburg: Soccer City 95 000 seats. The “flagship” stadium, hosting both opening and final match. The facade has vertical slots which are aligned with the nine other 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums. The stadium resembles a “Calabash” which is an African cooking pot. Johannesburg: 70 000 seats.

1753 m Pretoria: 50 000 seats.

1214 m Rustenburg: Royal Bafokeng

46 000 seats.

1300 m Polokwane:

45 000 seats.

1310 m Bloemfontein: Stadium 48 000 seats.

1400 m Nelspruit: Stadium

46 000 seats.

660 m

Use by Rugby and Football

Use by Rugby and football Grass types stability through kikuyu grass Chemical suppression, deep scarification Overseeding kikuyu grass re-grows cold weather with frost, the kikuyu grass yellows

All the pitches with kikuyu grass except: Durban with Cynodon Cape Town and MBombela (only Rye and Kentucky Blue ) Grasses

• Lolium perennae • Poa pratensis

• SR4600 • TOUCHE • ZOOM • SR2284 • DERBY XTreme • RHYTHM Use by Rugby and football Grass types Shade Use by Rugby and football Grass types Shade Irrigation pre match dampening of the pitches canon irrigation systems infield irrigations systems SOLUTIONS • minimize wear • Lights • Staff training • Monitoring of pitch performance • Stabilizers FIFA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Local Organizing Committee (LOC). Competitions Pitch Monitoring Team (PMT)

Pitch monitoring activities: Pitch monitoring activities:

• Accrual and evaluation of all the relevant documentation (drawings, specifications, procedures, etc.) pertaining to new and existing construction, or renovation projects, for each individual city (venue) tournament pitch, as well as all elected training and practice pitches.

• Accrual and assessment of the existing / proposed maintenance programmes, inclusive of the comparative available budget and / or required personnel and maintenance machinery / equipment for each individual facility.

• Pitch performance monitoring of individual tournament pitches.

• Continual appraisal / recommendations for each of the individual facilities monitored.

• Tournament (match- day) supervision. ”PITCH MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES" The legacy

When South Africa bid to host the 2010 World Cup, it was done so on the basis that the tournament should leave a lasting legacy for the country. South Africa’s hosting of the tournament is set to benefit the country in a number of areas. The South African Government had already committed to a major infrastructure investment programme but the hosting of the 2010 World Cup has acted as a catalyst for many of the current infrastructure projects. The tournament is also set to bring an estimated 450,000 international visitors from all over the world to the country, a significant boost for the local tourism industry, especially since the event is to be hosted during its low season. With the world’s focus on the country before, during and after the tournament, the hosting of the World Cup also provides an excellent marketing opportunity for the host nation. The hosting of the World Cup will leave a lasting legacy for football in this country. After the tournament it is the communities around these stadiums that will benefit from having improved sports facilities. The major contributions of the South African Government (US$) are to:

• Stadium and precinct development: 1.4 billion • Transport: 1.9 billion • Broadcast and telecommunications: 45 million • Event operations: 100 million • Safety and security: 200 million • Event volunteer training: 4 million • Ports of entry infrastructure: 500 million • Immigration support: 100 million • Communications, hosting, legacy and culture: 70 million

These figures are national government spend and exclude the amounts spent by the nine 2010 FIFA World Cup host cities in preparing for the tournament. CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS

Sand based pitches without reinforcing:

● Excavate 400mm ● Trench drains circular perforated flexible PVC drainage "tiles" (100mm diameter pipes, 25mm gravel blinding layer, gradient of 1 in 250, "grid" pattern, 5m spacing

no "geotextiles" around or above any drainage line.

● Fill trenches (adjacent to and over pipes) with gravel ● Place gravel to a depth of 100mm over the sub-base. ● Place the sand growing medium layer to a depth of 300mm ● Laser grade the sand growing medium 1:100

Royal Bafokeng Sand based pitches with reinforcing:

The construction of pitches with reinforcing is essentially the same as that of sand pitches without reinforcement.

'StaLok' - fibrillated polypropylene fibres

'Netlon' - reflex polypropylene mesh elements

'Desso - Grassmaster' Soil based pitches:

Shelton' drainage system

Loftus PITCH RENOVATIONS

The importance of end of season renovations before the world cup may be the one operation that can bring the pitches to an acceptable standard. A good renovation process will ensure a smooth transition between warm and cool season species as well as address the levels issues.

Objectives of the pitch renovations are:

 Address surface levels  Bring synthetic reinforcement back nearer surface  Remove or manage thatch  Remove or manage vegetation from warm season grasses  Improve drainage Scarification Fraise mowing Koro removal of surface Overseeding Practices and Procedures

Kikuyu was chemically treated with Primo Maxx and MSMA to restrict bounce back after over-seeding.

Kikuyu was scarified in two directions to remove most of the green parts of the plants and create space for the Ryegrass during over seeding.

The pitch was hollow tined to relieve compaction.

The pitch was top dressed by specially formulated sand and dragged with a drag mat in different directions to ensure a good surface.

Seed was applied with a 'Speed Seeder'

The pitch was dusted with the abovementioned sand to cover the seed.

A watering program was applied to enable germination to take place. PERFORMANCE MONITORING REQUIREMENTS

It is self evident that any football pitch must not only conform to minimum aesthetic qualities, but more importantly is also required to perform adequately from a functional view point.

The latter (usually not being visually perceptible) is required to be empirically measured with specific instrumentation to determine whether the pitch conforms to the required playability. Parameters

Ball rebound (bounce) FIFA specified soccer ball at required pressure and bounce apparatus. Measured as percentage (%) of ball rebound height from 3m vertical drop. 20 – 50 (15 – 55) Ball roll FIFA specified soccer ball at required pressure and “stimpmeter” at 45°angle. Measured as distance in meters rolled by ball from a height 1m down a ramp 3 – 12 (2 – 14). Surface traction “Studded boot” torque wrench placed and twisted / rotated on grass surface. Torque (Nm) required to displace or “cause tearing” of grass by studded disc. +25 (+ 20) Surface hardness “Clegg” impact tester placed on surface with repeated hammer action. Measured in gravities (G) with a 0,5 kg hammer released from a height of 0,55m. 55 – 140 (35 – 200) Surface evenness Straight edge of approximately 3m in length placed on grass surface, - 6 ( -8) Other parameters

• Surface shear measuring ('clegg' shear tester) • water infiltration measuring (infiltrometer) • surface penetration measuring (penetrometer) • grass cover measuring (quadrant frame) • root depth measuring (soil profile spade) • soil acidity / alkalinity measuring (soil pH meter) • soil moisture content measuring (tensiometer) MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT key strategic substandard equipment will not only compromise the performance of the pitches but also could jeopardise games.

List of key equipment needed on each site is provided below. Ride on cylinder mower (e.g. Toro 2300D) with verti-cut reels 2 pedestrian mowers (e.g. Dennis Premier ar) for pitch presentation 4 pedestrian Honda roller mowers for pitch clean up 1 small compact tractor (30 -40 hp) 1 tractor mounted sprayer with 3 nozzle choices for chemical application 1 tractor mounted granular fertiliser spreader 1 small tipping trailer 1 tractor mounted verti-drain with a range of solid and hollow tines 1 pedestrian sod cutter 1 small broadcast sand top-dresser (may be contracted in) At least 10 divot forks 1 pedestrian 'Scotts' type spreader 1 dimple seeder ('Pro Seed' or 'Blec' dimple seed) Brush CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The privilege to be involved in the preparation of the pitches for the World Cup is a once in a life time opportunity but with great responsibilities.

The importance of local knowledge regarding growing conditions and types of grasses is of utmost importance. Local knowledge will be the key factor in the preparation of the fields. In the case of Brazil some experience may be obtained from South Africa because both are southern hemisphere countries with totally different conditions compared to Europe.

Although valuable experience will be obtained with the hosting of the Confederations Cup one year before the World Cup, the end experience will still be TIME.

The importance of starting NOW can not be over emphasized. The key words to remember should be:

TIME

TRAINING

EQUIPMENT

LEVELS TIME This discourse serves primarily as a briefing to assist in the possible support of the Brazilian authorities that be, who, in one way or another, will be delegated with the responsibilities for the precise preparation of the pitches for the forthcoming football world cup event to be held in Brazil in 2014. In so far as we in South Africa had very little information and experience or support on which to build for the same overwhelming and prestigious event - perhaps, the early relating of our observations and experiences in this instance may be of substantial benefit to our successors. 16 -3-2010 30-4-2010