Artificial Turf For Soccer In India Not Yet Accepted

The first soccer stadium in India to be covered with artificial turf is in use in Kolkata at the Salt Lake Stadium and while this kind of surface is being enjoyed across Europe and the US as a preferred covering there is debate over the suitability of the turf in India. The first match was completed between Churchill Brothers and Air India during the last week and the response from players and coach was less than glowing.

Churchill’s Gourmangi Singh felt that the pace off the pitch was a bit of a problem for the players. “The balls were moving too fast for us to be comfortable. Judging the balls off the ground was a definite problem. It was hard to anticipate the speed,” he said.

There were also some concerns over the reflex pressure that the turf allows for players when they accidently kick the ground saying that the surface doesn’t react like the normal grounds.

Further complaints were avoided because there was heavy rain during the match which some players felt was a blessing, saying that had the sun been out it would have been unplayable due to the heat from the ground. One player commented on the possible heat and smell from the rubber granules would have made play extremely difficult.

It appears that there is some more testing to be done before artificial turf for soccer in India is going to be given the tick of approval. But if the artificial turf that was installed at Salt Lake Stadium contains rubber granules then the “new” turf is old technology. These days, with all of the newer, more improved infill products available, no new artificial turf installation should be using rubber granules for infill.