Since the introduction of artificial grass into the football world in the 1970s, it has caused a large-scale dispute in the international sports world. So far, the advantages and disadvantages of natural grass and artificial grass are still causing a lot of controversy in the sports world.
It was not until the mid-1980s that FIFA and the British National Sports Committee jointly issued a unified standard for the quality evaluation of sports fields and turf, which made the disputes between the two have practical and objective criteria.
So what are the effects of artificial grass and natural grass on football?
1. The influence of the two kinds of field elasticity on football sports Due to the limited elasticity of the natural grass plant fibers in the natural turf football field, the overall elasticity of the football on the natural turf is small, and the height of the high-altitude ball or the rebounding ball after landing is not high. Very high for players to catch, stop and control the ball.
However, the artificial grass of artificial turf football field is mostly made of plastic fibers, which determines its good elasticity, and the force of the football flying from high altitude or mid-air to bounce on it will also be great.
This means that it is not easy for the player to catch, stop and control the ball if the high-altitude ball or the rebound of the ball is too strong during the game. Players are required to readjust their stopping positions and determine the rebound height and route of the football, which has an impact on the inherent skills and tactics of players.
2. The influence of two kinds of field friction on football. The grass fiber of the natural turf football field has little friction force on the football, which determines that the football rolls faster and the rolling distance is longer on the natural turf.
However, the chemical fiber grass in the artificial turf football field has a large friction force on the football, the ball is more astringent when it falls on the artificial turf, and the rolling speed is slow and the rolling distance is relatively short.
The rolling distance can reflect the smoothness of the lawn surface. The measurement method is generally to place the standard game ball on a triangular measuring frame with a height of 1m and a 45° angle between the hypotenuse and the horizontal plane. The distance after the ball stops rolling, the longer the distance, the smoother the surface of the lawn, and vice versa, the rougher the lawn.
The best rolling distance is 3 to 12m, and the acceptable range is when the rolling distance is 2 to 14m.
According to the test, the rolling distance of the natural turf field is 4-15m; the rolling distance of the artificial turf field is 1-10m. From the measurement results, it can be seen that the friction force of the artificial turf field is obviously larger than that of the natural turf field. The large frictional force of turf also forces athletes to consume more energy under the same time and intensity of exercise, resulting in premature fatigue, which seriously affects the performance of athletes' skills and tactics.
3. The impact of the two types of football fields on players’ joint injuries When we watch live games, we can often see pictures of natural turf flying off under fierce confrontation. Don’t think that this is because the turf is not strong and the roots of the turf are not strong enough. Even the take-off of the soil actually plays a protective role on each joint. On artificial turf, at most some rubber particles fly, so each joint and ligament will bear more stress in these intense movements, naturally It is easy to cause strain and injury.
As mentioned above, the speed of the ball on artificial turf is faster and the rebound is higher, which invisibly speeds up the pace of the game, and the fast-paced confrontation will also increase the probability of injury to a certain extent. At the same time, many balls come to players. The reaction time is short, and it may also cause some subconscious unconventional movements, resulting in injury.
However, the flatness of the natural turf we come into contact with is difficult to compare with artificial turf, and joint damage can easily be caused due to the potholes on the ground;
On the other hand, playing on natural turf will give players the urge to do difficult movements, such as shoveling, undercuts, etc., which will actually increase the probability of injury.
4. The impact of the drainage function of the two-field football field on football The drainage system is the most important foundation for the football field lawn. The first thing to consider when building a football field is drainage.
The drainage system of artificial turf includes above-ground drainage and underground drainage. Above-ground drainage is generally drained through a certain slope (0.2% to 0.5%). The site can also be set to be high in the middle and low in the surrounding area to facilitate the removal of stagnant water.
In addition, it is necessary to choose sandy loam soil with good water permeability, which is conducive to water permeability. However, relying solely on ground drainage is slow, so more advanced football fields are equipped with underground drainage systems.
The underground drainage system is generally designed with drainage pipes in the base layer. Drainage pipes are usually made of tile pipes, concrete pipes and other materials. There are many forms of layout, and different layout densities are designed according to different rainfall.
When the stadium is flooded, the water seeps from the permeable lawn cushion to the bottom of the base layer, and then is collected by the drainage branch to the main pipe and flows to the outside of the stadium; the drainage system of natural turf is basically the same as that of artificial turf.
5. The influence of the lighting standards of the two fields on football The lighting quality of the football field is mainly determined by the level of illumination, the uniformity of illumination and the degree of glare control achieved. Athletes, photographers and spectators have different requirements.
The degree of glare caused by a lighting device depends on the luminous intensity and direction of the floodlight, the number of lighting devices, the position of the lighting devices in the field of view, and the brightness of the surrounding environment.
In fact, there is a trend towards financial considerations in determining lighting installations. This is largely determined by the number of audience seats.
The lighting standard of the venue depends on the visibility of the spectators to the athletes, not only related to the vertical illuminance, but also related to the illuminance of the horizontal plane. Because the lawns of the two sites are different, the lighting standards cannot be the same.
6. The impact of the two kinds of venues on the team's tactical play Because the elasticity and friction of artificial turf football venues are larger than those of natural turf football venues, the tactics that were originally set first had to be temporarily re-created due to the venue. Deploy new tactics.
However, such tactical play has not been coordinated for a long time, which determines that the tactical play of the entire football team will be affected, especially for teams that like long passes and rushing tactics, the excessive elasticity of artificial turf football fields will cause football. The change of the running trajectory has seriously affected the success rate of tactical cooperation;
For some teams with poor physical fitness, the artificial turf football field has a large frictional force on the football and the football shoes of the athletes, so the athletes will consume more energy and fatigue prematurely under the same time and intensity of exercise. , the original tactical cooperation will be ineffective;
For technical teams that are accustomed to playing short passes, the greater friction of artificial turf on the ball will affect the rolling speed and distance of the ball, which in turn affects the players' control of the rhythm of the game.
There are advantages to artificial grass. There are many advantages of artificial grass that natural grass cannot match. As we all know, it is different from natural grass, which requires two days of maintenance to play a game. The maintenance cost is basically zero, and in the era of rapid technological development, excellent artificial turf can already pass the FIFA certification standard, and its performance is infinitely close to natural turf.
FIFA certified artificial grass has three indicators: the durability of the turf surface, the movement response of the football on the surface, and the movement response of the players on the surface.
These indicators should be tested in the laboratory and in the field. The selection of these indicators is to hope that the data of artificial turf is closer to that of natural turf, and excellent artificial turf can already be used in motion indicators such as shock absorption, ball bounce and rolling, and steering value. to very close.
