World Cup 2018 final will be first to be played on part-artificial pitch
by Matthew Campelli | 19 Jan 2016
Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium will host the final and opening game of the 2018 World Cup / Tatiana Popova/Shutterstock.com
The World Cup final will be played on a part-synthetic pitch for the first time in history after British firm SIS Pitches won the contract to lay the surface at Russia’s 2018 Luzhniki Stadium venue.
Cumbria-based SIS clinched the multi-million pound deal to install its “new grass innovation” known as SISGRASS, which consists of 95 per cent natural turf reinforced with plastic, in the stadium which will also host the opening match and one semi-final of the tournament.
“It’s the first time a World Cup final will has been played on anything but all-natural grass and it’s like a dream for us as a company and community,” said SIS chief executive George Mullan.
Mullan added that the “strengthened structure” of the surface meant that more games could be played on it, while players are less likely to become injured due to the pitch’s “consistency and greater traction”.
SIS won a tender process for the laying and maintenance of the pitch against “strong competition from Russia and a host of international firms”. It has a two-year deal to maintain the pitch after it has been laid.
A custom-designed pitch will be laid, stitched with yarn and seeded, ready for the 2017 Confederations Cup – the competition held in the World Cup host country the year before to test facilities and infrastructure. The stadium will then be closed until the 2018 showpiece.
SISGRASS pitches were first installed at the Football Association’s (FA) St George’s Park headquarters in Burton, followed by Chelsea’s Cobham training ground and Hull City’s Cottingham centre. Turkish giant Besiktas will be the first professional club to lay the pitch in a stadium at its soon-to-be-completed Vodafone Arena.
The company laid the full-grass pitch at the Luzhniki for the 2008 Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea. United and Chelsea are among SIS’s 120 clients, including Barcelona, Juventus, FC Porto and Schalke.
Mullen said his company was “one of those hidden success stories”, adding: “We keep our heads down but sometimes you have to shout a little and winning the World Cup final for SISGRASS is one of those moments.”
World Cup 2018 SIS Pitches Russia Luzhniki Stadium Manchester United Barcelona Chelsea
The World Cup final will be played on a part-synthetic pitch for the first time in history after British firm SIS Pitches won the contract to lay the surface at Russia’s 2018 Luzhniki Stadium venue. Cumbria-based SIS clinched the multi-million pound deal to install its “new grass innovation” known as SISGRASS, which consists of 95 per cent natural turf reinforced with plastic, in the stadium which will also host the
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