FIFA President Blatter Inaugurates Desso Football Turf Pitches

DENDERMONDE, Belgium, December 9, 2011 -

This Friday will be the inauguration of the football turf pitches at the national football center of the Guam Football Association, the national football body of the Pacific island of Guam. The inauguration ceremony will be led by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter together with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Zhang Jilong. A Desso delegation has been invited to attend this event, as the football pitcheswere designed and installed by Desso Sports Systems as part of the island nation’s GoalIII  and GoalIV  projects.

The advantages of artificial turf for Guam

As the island of Guam is often visited by tropical storms, the existing natural grass pitches were often not playable due to the heavy rainfalls.

The Football Association of Guam aimed to further professionalize and expand its infrastructure so that the increasing number of players could always play and train on a perfect pitch.

The advantages of the artificial pitches are the constant playing quality regardless of the weather conditions, unlimited capacity (up to 5 times more than standard natural grass) and the limited maintenance needed.

Thanks to their excellent drainage capacity and special anchorage, the football turf pitches will be able to withstand tropical storms.

FIFA encourages the use of football turf as the best alternative to good natural grass pitches

FIFA supports the worldwide use of artificial turf for playing and training from both a quality and cost perspective.

In certain regions of the world it is difficult to grow and maintain perfect natural grass pitches at a reasonable cost, due to the climatic conditions.

In order to further promote football in those areas, FIFA has developed the FIFA Goal project. With this long-term project, football regions can count on support for their facilities, development of youth football, training and coaching, and so forth.

Desso’s expertise as FIFA Preferred Producer.

Desso Sports Systems is internationally renowned as the European pioneer in innovative sports pitches for both 100 % artificial grass as hybrid natural grass pitches. Desso is a FIFA Preferred Producer for football turf. The cooperation seeks to develop football pitches that meet and exceed the challenges of future football players at all levels.

Desso Sports has built the pitches in Guam in cooperation with its Australian partner HG Sports Turf.

With these projects, Desso aims to further develop its presence on the Oceanic market.

End of release

About Desso Sports Systems

Desso Sports Systems is the international leader in innovative sports fields for football, rugby and hockey pitches as well as tennis courts and multifunctional fields.

Over time, the company has installed more than 50 million m² of artificial turf at both amateur and professional clubs all over the world. The Desso GrassMaster system is in place at some 450 stadia and training centers worldwide, including Wembley and ten Premier League football clubs in the UK.

Desso Sports Systems is part of Desso, which manufactures contract carpeting and carpet tiles for offices, public buildings, schools, hospitals and airlines. Sustainability and creativity are important key values.

More info

www.dessosports.com

www.fifa.com

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More info: Desso Sports Systems, Helga Webers, Marketing Manager, hwebers(at)desso.com +32-474-994-250