World Cup Pitch Puts Wembley To Shame
The England team arrived a few days before their first world cup match against USA. Fabio Capello and his 23 players were greeted by a phone call from Prime Minister David Cameron and a pleasing new pitch laid for England's first game. He claimed the pitch, at Royal Bafokeng Stadium was hugely superior to Wembley.
The stadium which has a capacity of 42,000 was the stage for a clash between England and USA looking to top group C of the qualifiers, it was a match that would put the 'special relationship' under pressure. Capello and his squad were greeted by King Kgosi Leruo of the Bafokeng Tribe upon their arrival to their campus close to the stadium.
The stadium also boasts locker rooms that rival Wembley, each player has a luxury wooden cabin to change in. Before stepping out onto the pitch, players travel down a corridor facing each other before meeting at the top of a stairwell then down onto the pitch. The stadium is an athletics ground so a large running track separates the fans from the pitch.
The stadium's groundskeepers have been preparing the pitch in the run up to the competition. The stadium was constructed in 1999 and revamped for last year's Confederations Cup but the pitch is entirely new. Although it does not have the grandeur of Johannesburg's Soccer City, Royal Bafokeng Stadium has a distinct charm and is well renowned for its pitch. The grass was grown by a South African supplier specifically for the competition. Capello claims the pitch is ideal as provides the perfect amount of bounce, friction and texture, a vast contrast to his disappointment in the official world cup ball.
The same cannot be said for all of the World Cup pitches; Algeria's Majid Bougherra expressed his disappointment with the quality of the pitch at the Polokwane stadium, and claimed it was the cause of their 1-0 defeat by Slovenia. Bougherra claimed that the pitch, which is a mix of grass and synthetic turf, gave the ball an unpredictable bounce, mixed with the new ball he said it was impossible for the goalkeeper to get used to. Despite the controversy, every team is using the same facilities and no one has an advantage of any other. Although some teams may dispute conditions, they are, excuse the pun, on a level playing field.
The groundskeepers explained that although they had issues with lawn weeds due to the changing temperature, a mix of weed killers and enhanced lawn feed rescued the pitch in time for the World Cup.
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