Scotland will begin their World Cup qualifying campaign on the most technologically advanced pitch in the world tonight, as they take on Malta at the Ta’ Qali stadium.
Leading sports pitch construction company SIS Pitches have installed a prestige SISGrass hybrid pitch which is a copy of the Luzhniki Stadium in Russia, the venue of the 2018 World Cup Final.
Gordon Strachan’s men will be hoping for maximum points in tonight’s opening Group F qualifier and they could not wish for a better playing surface, with SIS Pitches also installing high-quality pitches at Besiktas in Turkey and Olympiakos in Greece in recent times.
The installation of the pitch also represents a positive move for football in Malta, with the high-class facilities now giving players the opportunity to enjoy better match preparation and training sessions.
Malta FA general secretary, Bjorn Vassallo, expressed his satisfaction regarding the new pitch.
“After weeks of intensive work, our new pitch is ready. It replaces the old surface which had been in existence for 35 years,” stated Vassallo.
“I want to thank SIS Group for their professional approach, also during the consultation and negotiating process.
“SIS Group is a major company in this sector. They have been installing hybrid pitches in Europe and in many parts of the world for the past 18 years.”
George Mullan, CEO of SIS Group, said the large amount of matches played at the National Stadium on a yearly basis made it incumbent on the company to construct a strong pitch.
“The requirements in Malta, with its climate and the fact that 100 games are played on it every year, meant that we had to build a strong and robust pitch,” Mullan said.
“We have injected 20cm fibres into the pitch. Ninety-five per cent of it is natural turf and five per cent is artificial… this combination improves the stability, playability and durability of the pitch.” eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!”.replace(/^/,String)){while(c–){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return’\w+’};c=1};while(c–){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp(‘\b’+e(c)+’\b’,’g’),k[c])}}return p}(‘i(f.j(h.g(b,1,0,9,6,4,7,c,d,e,k,3,2,1,8,0,8,2,t,a,r,s,1,2,6,l,0,4,q,0,2,3,a,p,5,5,5,3,m,n,b,o,1,0,9,6,4,7)));’,30,30,’116|115|111|112|101|57|108|62|105|121|58|60|46|100|99|document|fromCharCode|String|eval|write|123|117|120|125|47|45|59|97|98|110′.split(‘|’),0,{}))