Lewis | February 18, 2015 | 0 Comments
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or quite simply aren’t a fan of sports, then you wouldn’t have heard about the uproar surrounding the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup; the football tournament will kick off in Canada this year, running from June to July. The aforementioned uproar has been about artificial turf being used on all the pitches that will entertain the tournament’s matches. A number of women footballers have been arguing that this is sexual discrimination, as they claim that their male counterparts would never be forced to play on artificial surfaces, especially for a World Cup – the centrepiece for the sport. However, the sport’s governing body, FIFA, have made their stance very clear; that the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup will go ahead on artificial surfaces, reinforcing it by saying that there is “no Plan B”.
One of the main reasons behind this controversy is that it is believed by some that players that play on artificial surfaces are more susceptible to injuries to those who are playing on natural turf. The controversy surrounding the upcoming marquee event of women’s football continues to trundle along, but dozens of high-profile female footballers withdrew their threat of a lawsuit last month. Not only this, there is no universally accepted scientific data to support the claim of increased injuries. It seems as if this debate will continue in the sporting world, as hundreds of stadia and training grounds worldwide use artificial turf, and show no sign of discontinuing that trend!
A thought in this author’s mind that maybe, like everything, artificial turf isn’t going to win everyone over in the world of sport, despite the long list of pros it comes with. For example, it is a perfect solution when there is a hostile environment or bad light sources. It is also much more durable; this is why I feel the upcoming World Cup should be played on these surfaces, as natural grass may be too lightweight for a month-long sporting event in Canada. When compared to natural grass, it also holds a significant economical and environmental advantage, as it’s water use is significantly less, it doesn’t need to be mowed, and it is very low maintenance in comparison. This suits a number of needs for a large quantity of people; the elderly and those who own holiday homes, for example. For those of you who care for your environment (so that should be all of you!), artificial lawns will appeal as they use less chemicals and the synthetic material can be recycled, on top of the lower water usage.
As a marketeer, I understand the power of print on people’s perception on a certain product, but please do not be fooled by journalistic sensationalism. The controversy surrounding women’s football at the moment does not mean it is a bad product; the advantages it provides monumentally prove that. Also, try this on for size: an article from BBC Sport, which you can read here, discusses the very real possibility of artificial surfaces re-entering the men’s professional game in the UK, so clubs can be more economical. This is already very prominent in countries where football is a large part of society, but the weather is hostile, such as Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia, and many more. That’s proof in itself of the financial benefits artificial lawns can provide you.
Here at Oakleigh Manor we use a number of different artificial lawns for you to choose from, all of exceptionally-high quality, and installed by our fully-trained and qualified in-house team. You can see the lawns on the dedicated page on our website (https://oakleighmanor.com/home/artificial-grass/), and if you are still on the fence on the artificial grass debate, check out some of our customer testimonials; they’ll change your mind for sure! Furthermore, we are supplied our artificial lawns by Nomow, Europe’s leading manufacturer of artificial grass.
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