Soccer, the game we love, has many distinctive qualities and curiosities that separate it from other sports, making it unique.
One of those peculiarities is the word ‘pitch’; what is a pitch? Why is this word used in soccer?
Let’s look at the use of the word in the context of the beautiful game, the make-up of a soccer pitch, and other elements of soccer’s playing surface.
So, what is the pitch in soccer?
The pitch in soccer is the area where the game takes place. It’s generally what we know as the field in other sports.
Like many other sports, a soccer pitch is essentially the boundary which the soccer players perform within.
Why is it called the pitch?
The use of the word ‘pitch’ in soccer comes from the fact that cricket playing areas were called pitches.
In 19th century England, open spaces that could host soccer were few and far between, so a lot of soccer was hosted where cricket was played as this sport was more fancied in those days.
Cricket requires stumps that are to be pitched into the ground. Over time, people began referring to the area where you pitch the stumps as the pitch, so because soccer was played on cricket pitches, it caught on in soccer too.
What is the layout of a soccer pitch?
A soccer pitch is always rectangular and symmetrical, with a goal at each end of the pitch measuring 24ft wide and 8ft high.
As well as the outer rectangular boundary painted onto the grass, every professional pitch will contain the following:
- A halfway line going across the length of the pitch.
- A center circle that is split by that halfway line. Each subsequent semi-circle has a 10-yard radius from the exact center of the pitch.
- A center spot in the very center of the center circle where kick-offs are taken from.
- A penalty box at either end of the pitch measuring 18 yards long and 44 yards wide. A foul committed within this boundary against the attacking team will result in a penalty (except in rare instances where an indirect free-kick is awarded).
- A six-yard box within each penalty box, measuring 6 yards long and 20 yards wide, where goal kicks are taken from.
- A penalty spot inside the penalty box where penalties are taken from, 12 yards away and in line with the center of the goal.
- A “D” on the edge of each penalty box, shaped like an arc, drawn to restrict players to at least a 10-yard distance from the penalty taker from all angles.
- 1-yard quadrants in each corner of the pitch for the ball to be placed in for corner kicks.
- Dashed lines are drawn just off the pitch 10 yards away from the corner flags along the length and the width of the pitch to indicate where opposition players can’t encroach before a corner is taken.
What are the dimensions of a soccer pitch?
Professional soccer pitches must measure between 100-130 yards long and 50-100 yards wide, although the length must always be greater than the width. This is enforced by FIFA for all clubs under their jurisdiction.
Interestingly, the statistics on Premier League pitches show the differences. Nottingham Forest has this season’s largest pitch, measuring approximately 8,203 sq. yards. Whereas Fulham’s pitch is the league’s smallest, listed at only 7,108 sq. yards.
Of course, there are various governing bodies in soccer, throwing some confusion into the mix. The Premier League rules state that once you’ve measured out your pitch for the first league game, you can’t change those dimensions again throughout the season.
UEFA insisted on Stoke City’s famously small pitch being increased for their 2011/12 Europa League campaign. Yet so intent on gaining any advantage they could, the club would routinely alter their pitch size from the measurements the Premier League allowed to the measurements you UEFA allowed and vice versa.
The parameters that clubs can measure their pitch within are considerations for visiting teams who must play on a pitch a different size to their own, the one they’re most used to.
It might seem inconsequential at first, but Nottingham Forest’s wingers, for example, might need to slightly adjust to not having quite as much room out wide at Fulham as they would do at home.
Dimensionally larger pitches can indeed stretch the play as well, potentially creating gaps that are far more pronounced between defenders than they would be on smaller pitches. This might favor more technically gifted teams.
However, if you imagine a team that relies more on physicality and has less technical ability than others in their division, they might prefer a smaller pitch, so there’s not as much room to operate in; long balls will end up further up the pitch to avoid attempting to out-skill their opponent and create an aerial contest further up the field instead.
What surfaces can a soccer pitch be?
Grass is the usual playing surface that soccer is played on, although depending on what part of the world you’re in, you might encounter artificial surfaces too.
Even a lot of the “natural” surfaces aren’t entirely natural. Many clubs all over Europe use hybrid grass, which means artificial fibers are interwoven or chemically injected with grass because it’s easier to manage and supposedly more comfortable for players to play on.
Fully artificial surfaces are often granted for teams competing in areas that experience extremely cold weather. Harsh climates make it difficult to maintain grass to a good standard because of the care and prime conditions it requires, a problem that artificial surfaces don’t have.
These synthetic pitches are also useful for clubs with smaller budgets as they are much cheaper to maintain.
Artificial or otherwise, a non-negotiable is that the playing surface must be green.
Is a soccer pitch bigger than a football field?
Soccer pitches are usually wider than football fields but not as long.
Football fields are universal in size at the professional level (120 yards long, including the end zones, and 53 ⅓ yards wide). As we’ve established, this isn’t the case in soccer.
It isn’t always the case that football fields are longer, however, as soccer pitches vary in size, given that the FIFA regulations allow them to do so.
In theory, a soccer pitch can be both longer and wider than a football field, but this is rarely seen at the elite level.
Elche, a club competing in Spain’s top tier, is renowned for having one of the largest pitches in world soccer, yet it is still 2 yards shorter than a typical football field, including the end zones.
Similarly, you will struggle to find a soccer pitch that is narrower than a football field. If it weren’t for the giant NFL logo in the center circle, English Premier League fans might have been confused when Tottenham Hotspur faced Manchester City and the thick white sidelines from the NFL International Series games played in London a few days prior were still visible.
Albeit challenging for the ground staff to alter the pitch’s layout, the occasion and images helped highlight the difference in size between the two playing areas.
Conclusion
Are you going to get into trouble if you accidentally call a soccer pitch a ‘soccer field’? Probably not, but it’s good to understand these traditions and broaden your knowledge of the beautiful game.
If you’re new to the sport, hopefully, you’ve found this article useful, and it contributes to your growing passion for soccer.