Whenever we enter the middle of winter, clubs in Ligue 1 face the same problems: lower temperatures, increased precipitation and even the emergence of snowfall, which has led to the fact that the maintenance of the stadium's land has been complicated and difficult.
In order to overcome these difficulties and ensure that the matches are held on time, the LFP (French Professional Football League) has taken several measures over the years to improve the protection system of the stadium. Today let's take a look at how Ligue 1 is coping with the impact of falling temperatures on the pitch's turf.
As early as December 2003, The Ligue 1 officially tested and approved the use of tarpaulins on the pitch and provided financial support for clubs wishing to use tarp to maintain the pitch.
Ligue 1 also prepared two additional sets of tarpaulins to prevent extreme situations to help the club in time when the stadium is held without the relevant maintenance equipment.
In addition to protecting the course's turf from the effects of climate change, this investment is also to maximize the guarantee that the game can be carried out as originally planned.
After some initial measures taken in Ligue 1, over time, in order to better adapt to the local climate and cope with unexpected conditions such as extreme weather, the club has also equipped its own stadium with more efficient maintenance technology.
After all the clubs used tarpaulin in the stadium, they specially equipped the stadium with blowers. In addition, over the past decade, the club has invested heavily in underground thermal regulation systems to limit the deep freezing of soil substrates and reduce the risk of uncontrollable soil deformation.
In June 2013, the major clubs also subscribed to Météo-France ( the French weather forecast service ) . Whether at home or away, clubs can access the weather information of the match site in real time before the game.
Weather forecasts as we know them tend to be meteorological predictions made for a wide range of regions. The stadium's weather forecasts, on the other hand, are based on "point" predictions: by capturing sensor data and visually analyzing the surface data, a simulated budget is made for the stadium's specific latitude and longitude rather than a wide area.
The weather forecast at the game site can start tracking in real time about 10 days before the game. As the race approaches, weather forecasts become more and more reliable. Clubs can keep an eye on weather forecasts every day and adjust the details of their participation to deal with possible problems based on the condition of the players in the team.
In addition to requiring a field manager per club, LFP has established a field management network on the pitch. Each part of the stadium is responsible for monitoring climate change in the stadium in its area and preventing sudden risks.
In the event of an emergency, the on-site management must notify the league official. The league side immediately after communicating with the club, re-evaluating the weather forecast data, and then sending a manager to the game site to confirm the real state of the stadium. This management model applies from November to March of each year.
Nowadays, in addition to the above management methods, the game operation department can also temporarily determine that the game needs to be postponed before the game based on the data detected by the equipment in each stadium. If there is a postponement of the match, priority is given to postponing it to the next day, or if possible, to play additional matches within a week.
The awareness and investment of clubs to protect the stadium has a lot to do with the inclusion of the obligation to respect the game in the league rules.
If the club delays the game because the stadium protection is not in place, not only will its own stadium be damaged, but also will be subject to economic sanctions for not complying with the relevant competition guidelines, and then it will really be said that the lady has lost and folded.