Three world governing bodies agree to sport surfaces protocols

The world governing bodies of football, rugby and hockey have agreed to a set of protocols to “revolutionise” the way shared sports grounds are used.

FIFA, World Rugby and the International Hockey Federation (FIH) have set out the ‘One Turf Concept’, which relates to standards in the performance and longevity of playing fields, including artificial grass pitches.

Player welfare, performance and playability have been taking into consideration, and the federations will continue to work with manufacturers and test laboratories to keep “refining standards” for grassroots surfaces.

One Turf Concept recommendations for facilities installing new fields include: player performance; longevity; and achieving certification from one or more of the federations.

Bill Beaumont, chair of World Rugby, said the initiative was a “fantastic example of cross-sport co-operation that will benefit grassroots sport all over the world.”

“Along with FIFA and FIH, we recognise that the promotion of multi-sport facilities is a cornerstone of the development of our sports in both established and new markets,” he added.

“It is also recognised that the key performance measure of these fields should be focussed on player welfare and, as always, that is our number one priority.”