The FIFA RECOMMENDED quality mark is only awarded to football turf pitches that have passed the stringent laboratory and field tests. The benchmark for the FIFA test criteria for football turf, the official name for high-quality artificial turf, is natural grass in top condition, which guarantees excellent quality and superior playing comfort.

With this in mind, each football turf product has to pass a series of laboratory tests before progressing to the second phase of testing, which involves practical field tests on installed pitches as a whole.

In the first phase, the laboratory tests determine or check
- Service life
- Product composition
- Seam strength
- Weather resistance
- Interaction between the player and the surface
- Interaction between the ball and the surface

If the product passes these laboratory tests, it then undergoes the field test, which involves the use of special measuring instruments, and checks

- the identification of the installed product
- the ball roll and rebound
- the interaction between players and the artificial turf, e.g. shock absorption, deformation of the material, skid resistance and traction.

1 STAR or 2 STAR certification not a compliance guarantee

Once both phases of testing have been passed, there is nothing standing in the way of awarding the FIFA RECOMMENDED quality mark. The quality mark certifies that the football turf installation is of the highest quality, in either the FIFA RECOMMENDED 1 STAR or 2 STAR category.

The certification does not mean that the football turf installation complies with other international or national guidelines, such as on pitch size or pitch markings. All equipment must be in line with safety regulations. For international matches, the Laws of the Game apply, and for other matches the competition regulations of the respective national association.