Standards At FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil

European and international standards ensure safety and a level playing field on the pitch and on the stands, as well as the greatest level of all other functional and safety requirements at the greatest sporting event of the year.

When Croatia and Brazil started the opening match of the Cup in Sao Paolo on Thursday, June the 12th this was the beginning of a fierce and strong football tournament to be watched by more than two billion people all around the world.

During the Cup millions of football fans will follow every move of their national teams and their players. While it is completely uncertain who will win the cup, there are things which must not be left to chance: both players and spectators must be safe, and the competition must be fair. International and European standards ensure a level playing field for the game.

In order to ensure safety, comfort and view of the pitch for spectators, European and international standards have been developed for many aspects of the event, architectural design and performance requirements, e.g. for stadium seats, stadium equipment and installations including lighting, waterproof seats, inclination of stadium stands. There are also standards for evacuation procedures in case of fire. Development of European and international standards will help ensure a safe and exciting tournament.

Experts from 30 national members of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) have developed a series of European standards (EN) for the safety of participants (competitors) and spectators at sporting events – for the goal (even the distance to which the net extends behind the goal is defined), for water absorption of the pitch, for shin pads. The standards ensure a uniform high level of safety and quality in all countries.

European standards EN 12231 (HRN EN 12231:2003, Surfaces for sports areas – Determination of ground cover of natural turf), EN 12232 (HRN EN 12232:2003, Surfaces for sports areas – Determination of thatch depth of natural turf) and EN 12233 (HRN EN 12233:2003, Surfaces for sports areas – Determination of sward height of natural turf) also ensure that sports grounds used for training in home countries correspond to the conditions on tournament areas. Like big sportsmen know: when stakes are high, nothing is left to chance.

The standards have been developed by CEN’s Technical Committee CEN/TC 217, Surfaces for sports areas, in cooperation with FIFA. CEN experts have collected the state of the art in the area and FIFA has contributed the highest level of medical and technical know-how. Such cooperation avoids duplication of work and is of mutual benefit for both partners.

Football is more than just a sport. In many countries it’s a religion. National football leagues attract great attention, and a victory in an international game is a reason for a nationwide celebration. Professional football is also a business worth billions of dollars. It is therefore not surprising that the ISO 9000 family of standards is used there to improve performance and business processes just like in many other industries.

European National Standards Bodies have issued publications and texts on the occasion of World Cup Brazil 2014. CEN and CENELEC have decided to celebrate this global sporting event by highlighting the role of standards in relation to football.  

Turf (surfaces for sports areas)

There are standards for artificial glass, but we won’t see any in the Brazilian stadiums. They use either Bermuda celebration or Ryegrass grasses there. There are no requirements for the height of the grass, but according to experts, the height is preferably 23 mm. HRN EN 12233:2003, Surfaces for sports areas – Determination of sward height of natural turf), sets requirements to properly determine the height of the grass.

Goals and goal nets

HRN EN 748:2013, Playing field equipment – Football goals – Functional and safety requirements, test methods) provides specifications for the twine, the mesh size, the goal posts and the dimensions of the goal. The twine must have a minimum diameter of 2 mm and the maximum mesh size is 12 cm. The dimensions of the goal should be 7.32 by 2.44 m.

Sports lighting

HRN EN 12193:2008, Light and lighting – Sports lighting defines requirements for lighting a pitch, as well as for the lighting of television recordings.
Sustainable stadiums The solar panels on the roof of the stadium in Belo Horizonte are installed according to safety standards, otherwise fire could break out because of a short circuit. Another innovation is the roof of the stadium in Salvador, which can collect about 698,000 litres of rainwater for reuse. Existing roofing standards ensure a good and safe construction. In addition, more and more standards for sustainable constructions are under development.

Stadium seats

The space to the seat in the row in front is, according to the standard HRN EN 13200-4:2008, Spectator facilities – Part 4: Seats – Product characteristics), at least 30 cm. According to the requirements in the standard, a stadium seat should be able to bear a weight of 2000 kg. The seat is a minimum of 40 cm deep and 50 cm wide.

Ball(Brazuca)

Brazuca far exceeds the “FIFA Approved Standards”. HRN EN 12235:2013, Surfaces for sports areas – Determination of vertical ball behaviour sets requirements and test methods for the ball. For example the bounce behaviour: if it is dropped from a height of 2 metres onto a concrete surface, after the bounce it should rise again by 1.35 metres.

National team kits – shirt, shorts and socks

National team player wears an average of 18 plastic bottles. The shirts, shorts and – for the first time – socks made from recycled plastic bottles. It’s a good example of innovation and usefulness of recycling. HRN EN ISO 3758:2012, Textiles – Care labelling code using symbols specifies requirements for the symbols used on the labels. This standard not only provides clear instructions to consumers worldwide, but also a tool for businesses such as laundries and dry cleaners.

Goal keeper gloves

Good gloves meet the requirements of HRN EN 16027:2012, Protective clothing – Gloves with protective effect for association football goal keepers. By the way, goalkeeping gloves should be worn slightly larger than hand size as this provides increased ball blocking ability and grip.

Shin guards

If a player hits an opponent’s shin when starting a tackle for the ball (or the opponent), this can lead to a serious injury or even fracture. A shin guard must comply with
HRN EN 13061:2010, Protective clothing – Shin guards for association football players – Requirements and test methods). If it does, a tackle will lead only to a bruise.

Article & Image Reference: CEN/CENELEC/CSI