Today, the popularity of football has a history of nearly a hundred years, and almost every country and region has a large demand for football stadium construction. And providing different types of football grass to customers is also our very firm choice for more than ten years. Building a small 7-a-side football field does not require too much floor space, and it can be realized in many places such as communities, city centers, and suburbs. Let's teach you the process of building a seven-a-side football field.
What materials are needed to build a 7-a-side football pitch?
A high-quality, durable, and safe football pitch is far more than just laying down a layer of artificial turf. It's a complex system engineering project meticulously constructed from multiple layers of specialized materials.
1. Foundation and Drainage Layer
This is the most crucial part of football pitch construction, determining the stability and lifespan of the field and preventing water accumulation and subsidence.
Graded Crushed Stone: Typically, crushed stone with a particle size of 30-50mm is used, laid to a thickness of approximately 15-20cm. It bears the core load-bearing, stabilizing, and initial permeability functions, serving as the foundation for load transfer.
Stabilizing Layer Material: In areas with loose soil and poor bearing capacity, this layer is necessary to improve the integrity and bearing capacity of the foundation, preventing uneven settlement.
Drainage Pipes: Lay within the crushed stone layer, efficiently collecting and guiding groundwater to the outside of the field, crucial for preventing water accumulation.
Geotextile Fabric: Lay above and below the crushed stone layer, acting as a filter and separator. It can effectively prevent the seepage of upper soil or fine sand into the gravel pores and drainage pipes, ensuring that the drainage system is unobstructed.
2. Base Layer
This is the solid foundation of the artificial turf, providing an absolutely flat, stable, and somewhat elastic adhesion surface for the surface layer.
• Asphalt Base
Currently the most mainstream and best-balanced choice. It uses modified asphalt concrete specifically designed for sports fields. It has good elasticity and resistance to low-temperature cracking, providing better cushioning for sports activities; the construction period is relatively short; and the surface smoothness is extremely high.
• Concrete Base
The strongest and most durable choice, but with higher cost and construction requirements. It is extremely stable, almost non-deformable, and has an extremely long service life. However, it should be noted that pure concrete bases have poor elasticity and often need to be used in conjunction with an elastic subbase.
3. Artificial Turf System
This is the core layer of a football field, directly determining athletic performance, safety, and appearance.
• Grass Material:
PE: The absolute mainstream choice. Soft to the touch, excellent abrasion resistance, strong anti-aging ability, providing the closest feel and rebound to natural grass.
PP: Higher hardness, lower cost, but poorer abrasion resistance and flexibility; prone to fiberization after prolonged use; mostly used in low-intensity areas or decorative areas.
Grass Height and Density: A grass height of 40-50mm and a density of 10,000-13,000 stitches/square meter are recommended for 7-a-side football fields. This configuration achieves the best balance between athletic performance, durability, and cost.
Grass Wire Shape: Open-net monofilament is the preferred choice for modern high-standard fields. It is closer to natural grass blades, resistant to lodging, has good resilience, and does not easily trap dirt. A mixture of straight and curved wires offers high performance; straight wires provide support, while curved wires increase elasticity and realism.
Backing: Must be a double-layer composite backing. The first layer is a sturdy PP fabric, and the second layer is a mesh fabric, combined with a high-quality styrene-butadiene latex coating to ensure strong grass pull-out and waterproof and corrosion-resistant properties.
• Infill Materials:
Quartz Sand: Clean, dry, round quartz sand with a particle size of 0.3-0.8mm. Its function is to ballast the turf, prevent base deformation; fix the grass roots to prevent lodging; and provide good drainage.
SBR granules: The mainstream choice, providing cushioning, absorbing impact, and greatly reducing the risk of joint and muscle strain for players.
TPE granules: A more environmentally friendly, odorless upgrade option with vibrant colors, but at a higher cost.
• Accessories:
Seam Fabric and Special Adhesive: PU adhesive and high-strength, anti-aging seam fabric are used to seamlessly bond each roll of turf. This is a critical hidden project during construction; inferior adhesive can cause seam cracking.
White Outfield Turf: Used to create sidelines, baselines, center circle, penalty area lines, etc. It must be white turf of the same material and height as the main field, and connected to the main turf through weaving.
Shock Absorption Pad: An independent elastic layer laid between the base layer and the turf. It improves the field's shock absorption rate, greatly enhancing sports protection, and is a hallmark of professional youth training and high-end fields.
Field Marking
The playing field is required to be rectangular in shape and marked with non-hazardous continuous solid lines that mark the boundaries of the field. Only lines expressly permitted by the rules may be used to mark the playing field. The two longer sides of the field are the touchlines and the two shorter sides are the goal lines. The midpoint of the field is connected to the sidelines to form the midline, which divides the field of play into two halves. A center point mark is provided at the midpoint of the center line, and a circle with a radius of 7 meters is drawn with the mark as the center. Markings perpendicular to the goal line and touchline may be made on the outside of the goal line and touchline, 7 meters from the arc of the corner kick. All lines must be consistent in width and not exceed 250px, and the goal line must be the same width as the goalposts and crossbar. If artificial turf is used, other lines can be drawn on the surface of the field, but they must be of a different color from the football field markings to clearly distinguish them. Unauthorized marking on the field of play is considered unsporting and the referee must warn the player after the next stoppage of play when such behavior is discovered during the game.
Size
The touchline must be longer than the goal line.
The length of sidelines ranges from a maximum of 75 meters to a mi nimum of 60 meters;
The width of the goal line ranges from a maximum of 56 meters to a mi nimum of 43 meters.
The suggested site size is 68 meters long and 52 meters wide.
Essential Dimensions for 7-a-Side Pitch Markings
Goal Area
4.8 meters from the inside of each goal post, draw two lines perpendicular to the goal line, these lines extend 4.8 meters into the field of play and join with a line parallel to the goal line. The area enclosed by these lines and the goal line is called the goal area.
Penalty Area
13 meters from the inside of each goal post, draw two lines perpendicular to the goal line, these lines extend 13 meters into the field of play and join with a line parallel to the goal line. The area enclosed by these lines and the goal line is called the penalty area. A penalty spot is drawn in each of the two penalty areas, 10 meters from the midpoint of the goal line and equidistant from both goalposts. Outside the two penalty areas, with the penalty point as the center, draw an arc with a radius of 7 meters.
Corner Area
With the flagpole as the center of the dot, a fan is formed with a radius of 1m. The area formed by the sideline and the goal is the corner kick area.
Flagpole
In order to mark the location of the competition field, a flat-top flagpole with a height of not less than 1.3 meters shall be erected at each corner of the field, and a small flag shall be hung on the flagpole. In addition, flagpoles can also be set at a distance of not less than 1 meter from both ends of the center line and the sideline, and the same height and small flags are required.
Technology Area
The technical area refers to the seating area specially set up for technical staff and substitute players, and is used for competitions in the stadium. The scope of the technical area extends 1 meter from both sides of the bench and extends forward to an area 1 meter away from the touchline.
In order to clarify the scope of the technical area, marking lines should be used on the field for marking. The number of persons allowed to remain in the technical area is determined by the event regulations.
Personnel in the technical area need to confirm according to the rules of the game before the start of the game and be responsible for their actions. They must stay within the designated area, unless there are special circumstances, such as when a player is injured on the field, a physiotherapist or doctor can enter the field of play with the referee's permission. At the same time, only one person is allowed to convey technical and tactical guidance from the technical area at the same time.
Goal
The goal must be placed exactly in the middle of each goal line. The goal consists of two vertical uprights connected to their tops by a horizontal beam, which may be of wood, metal or other approved material. The cross-sectional shape of the goal is limited to square, rectangular, round or oval to ensure that it does not pose a danger to the players.
The distance between the two columns is 5.5 meters, and the lower edge of the beam is 2.2 meters from the ground. Posts and beams must be the same width and thickness and must not exceed 250 pixels.
If the crossbar of the goal is displaced or broken, play shall be suspended until the repair and restoration is completed. If repairs are not possible, the game must be discontinued. Rope or other soft or dangerous materials are not permitted in place of beams. After the fix, the game will restart by taking a dropped ball.
A net may be hung behind the goal, and the net shall be properly positioned on the goal and the ground behind the goal
Fence
The protective fence is set up to protect the surrounding area of the court. According to regulations, the protective fence should extend outward for more than 2 meters on the basis of the court boundary. Normally, we use a fence with a height of about 3 meters for installation. If the golf course is close to residential areas or highways, for safety reasons, the height of the fence can be appropriately increased.
When setting up the fence, it is necessary to pay attention that there should be no sharp parts in the fence, so as not to cause danger to the person. In addition, protruding parts such as door handles and latches need to be hidden to avoid injury to athletes. The access door should be set in an appropriate size according to the needs of maintenance equipment, usually 2 meters wide and 2 meters high.
How to Maintain a Soccer Field?
Scientific maintenance not only ensures optimal athletic performance and safety standards but also extends the lifespan of the soccer field.
• Systematic maintenance offers numerous advantages for soccer fields:
Ensuring Sports Safety: Ensuring a uniform infill layer and a smooth surface prevents sports injuries such as sprains.
Maintaining Optimal Performance: Keeping the grass upright and with appropriate elasticity ensures ball speed, roll, and bounce meet expectations.
Protecting Asset Value: Preventing premature aging, cracking, and delamination due to neglect.
Enhancing Visual Appeal: Keeping the field clean and vibrant colors improves the user experience and the field's image.
• Daily Maintenance:
This is the simplest yet most effective preventative maintenance.
Litter and Debris Removal: Use a soft-bristled broom or blower to remove leaves, snack wrappers, cigarette butts, and other surface debris.
Stick Cleaning: Place stick cleaning mats at the field entrance to prevent mud and sand from being brought in, which can abrade the grass and infill particles.
Simple combing: For high-traffic areas (such as in front of the goal and the midfield kickoff point), use a lightweight nylon brush to simply comb the grass in the opposite direction.
Inspection: Quickly inspect the field for any obvious tears, cracks, or pet feces. If pet feces are found, clean them up immediately, as their acidity will corrode the grass.
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