With more 10’000 Football Turf fields tested and certified around the world, the FIFA Quality Programme has a huge impact on the development of football. 

The playing surface quality is a key element for players and has a large impact on their performance as well as injuries. For this reason the player surface interaction has always been one of the core aspects of the FIFA Quality Programme for Football Turf.

Currently, the player-surface interactions are measured using the Advanced Artificial Athlete and the Rotational Resistance tests. The Advanced Artificial Athlete measures 3 properties of the surface: the Shock Absorption, the Vertical Deformation and the Energy Restitution. The Rotational Resistance test measures the peak horizontal force required to rotate a loaded and studded foot plate.

In recent years, the natural and artificial surface properties have developed due to the popularity of reinforced surfaces (also known as hybrid surfaces) which tend to be harder than other natural turf field designs. In Football Turf products, new components like shock-pads and performance infills have entered the market which have also had an impact on the properties of the original 3G surfaces.

While the current test methods allow to measure the hardness and the stability of a surface FIFA believes that with the use of the advanced technological methods a more representative test method could be developed. For this reason, FIFA has launched a request for proposals with the aim to develop a FIFA Test Method that combines the testing of the mechanical properties of the surface with biomechanical aspects and the perception of the football players.

FIFA is inviting Research Institutes and stakeholders of the FIFA Quality Programme for Football Turf to submit their proposal for the development of a new method to measure the typical player-surface interaction in the game of football that correlates with the player’s perception of the surface. To receive the RFP document please contact quality@fifa.org.