ATHLETES PREFER PLAYING ON REAL GRASS

STUDENTS AND PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES ALIKE prefer grass and believe that playing on synthetic turf increases injury.


FIFA STUDY:

Professional athletes have consistently shown a preference for playing on real grass. FIFA commissioned an 18 month study to gauge elite soccer players' attitudes towards grass vs. synturf. "In total, responses from 1129 players from 44 different countries were analysed. The majority of players expressed a strong preference for the use of Natural Turf pitches over alternatives such as Artificial Turf." According to the study, “Approximately three-quarters of players felt that all top level games should be played on NT.”

Source: Elite Players' Perceptions of Football Playing Surfaces: A Mixed Effects Ordinal Logistic Regression Model of Players' Perceptions, Loughborough University in collaboration with FIFA, 2016


NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION PLAYING SURFACES OPINION SURVEY Results:


89.7% of NFL Players Think Synthetic Turf is More Likely To Shorten Their Career


82.4% of NFL Players Think Synthetic Turf is More Likely To Contribute to Injury


89.1% of NFL Players Think Synthetic Turf causes more soreness and fatigue


64.4% of NFL Players Think Synthetic Turf WILL negatively affect their quality of life after footbalL


 

overview of nfl survey results

Source: Natural Grass Athletic Fields powerpoint from Sports Turf Managers Association

Source: Natural Grass Athletic Fields powerpoint from Sports Turf Managers Association