Report: Goa gets India’s first hybrid pitch for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

The mega event kick-off on October 11 in Bhubaneswar.

The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup will be held in India after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, which is one of the venues for the U-17 World Cup, is set to have India's first Hybrid pitch that will be used for the U-17 Women's World Cup according to a Times of India report. The stadium will host 16 matches in just 15 days, unlike other venues. FIFA came up with the idea of installing the hybrid pitch at their own cost which is worth around 4 crores.

The other two venues hosting the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India are the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar and DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The reason for installing the hybrid pitch in Fatorda was due to more matches being played in lesser time.

What is a Hybrid Pitch?

"The Hybrid pitch is a combination of 95 percent natural and five percent artificial grass," Thomas Alcock, operations director for SISGrass, the company responsible for installing the hybrid pitch said. Even though the five percent seems to be less but it helps in playing more games inside very few days. “The five percent makes a big difference. It gives you stability, you can play more games on the same pitch with less damage, it’s safer and looks better in performance," he said in the report.

The company has vast experience in laying the hybrid pitch in the world's best football leagues. The venues at the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A are played on these surfaces and have given good results to date.

On an artificial pitch, the surface can get hard causing injury concerns. On a completely natural pitch, the surface can become very soft making it uneasy for players to play. The hybrid is in between both the natural and artificial benefitting the play to move on safely without any damage.

Recently the dutch company relaid the pitch at the Etihad stadium home to Manchester City, the current Premier League Champions.

The installation of the pitch started on September 27. According to the TOI report, the installation is taking place in two shifts of 12 hours each with a crew of five men. It will be completed in eight days. The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 kick-off on October 11 in Bhubaneswar.