KUALA LUMPUR (15 May 2011) – The FA of Malaysia (FAM) have taken the initiative to push for the use of artificial turf, following the appointment of an agency each from Germany and Belgium.
The move to have the artificial turf in each state will follow the procedure and standard set by world football governing body, FIFA.
The FAM decided to push for the use of more artificial pitch was to ensure that the pitch quality at very stadia in the country is not affected regardless of usage.
Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin, the chairman of FAM’s Local Competition Committee, said that the appointment of the two agency from Germany and Belgium was to assist every stadia in the country have quality pitches.
It is estimated that the cost will be around RM 3 million (USD 1 million).
“We can only look to assist them to have quality pitches where in the end, they have to decide for themselves whether they would want to go artificial,” said Hamidin.
“The artificial turf is easy to maintain and they can last up for to eight years. For the moment, we are struggling with pitch quality in most stadia which has in a lot of ways affected the quality of the game being played in the M-League.
“I hope that the stadium owners round the country will take this opportunity to go artificial where in the long run, it is beneficial to them where they do not have to grapple with bad quality pitches due to constant usage.”
