Fully artificial pitches to be banned in Asian Football Confederation competitions from August
Lion City Sailors striker Lennart Thy scores in a 2-0 win over Sydney FC at Jalan Besar Stadium in April. Artificial surfaces such as this will not be allowed in Asian Football Confederation competitions from next season. ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
SINGAPORE – Singapore Premier League (SPL) champions Lion City Sailors and runners-up BG Tampines Rovers will lose their unique home-ground advantage of playing continental matches on the Jalan Besar Stadium astroturf, after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) banned the use of fully artificial pitches in major national team and club competitions under its sanctioning from August.
In a June 11 memo to AFC member associations seen by The Straits Times, Asian football's governing body said the decision is in line with efforts to improve the quality of play, following feedback that the standard of pitches, in particular artificial ones, has varied over the past few seasons.
Tampines coach Gavin Lee noted that, with the exception of a handful of clubs like Norwegian champions and Europa League semi-finalists Bodo/Glimt, most teams around the world play on natural grass.
Lee, also national assistant coach, said: 'I'll be lying if I said the astroturf was not an advantage for Singapore teams when we host opponents at Jalan Besar. And I can understand why there are more artificial pitches in our region because maintenance is much easier in our climate.
'But it's understandable why the AFC is heading in this direction because globally, almost all the major tournaments are played on grass.
The affected competitions are the World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers, the Women's Asian Cup and Olympic qualifiers, AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions League Two (ACL2) and the AFC Women's Champions League.
After notifying its member associations of the ban on June 11, AFC sent letters the next day to those who are affected by the decision, asking them to nominate an alternative venue with natural grass or a hybrid surface for their home matches.
These include Singapore, who have played some national team games at the 6,000-seater Jalan Besar Stadium, when the 55,000-capacity National Stadium is unavailable or deemed too big for requirements.
The Jalan Besar Stadium also hosted the Sailors and Tampines' ACL2 matches last season, with both teams having also qualified for the group stage of the second-tier continental club competition next season.
A Football Association of Singapore spokesman confirmed the official correspondence and said it is working with AFC and national agency Sport Singapore 'to ensure that there will not be any disruptions to AFC matches for the 2025-26 season'. ST has also reached out to AFC and SportSG for comment.
Singapore striker Ikhsan Fandi welcomed the move to natural grass. He and midfielder Adam Swandi both sustained knee injuries in the 3-1 friendly win over the Maldives at Jalan Besar in December 2022, ruling them out of that year's Asean Championship.
The 26-year-old came off worse as he ruptured his right patella tendon and was out for 11 months.
Ikhsan, who has joined Ratchaburi FC on loan from fellow Thai League 1 side BG Pathum United, told ST: 'I've had an unfortunate injury on an artificial pitch, so I can relate to some of the concerns around them. I understand AFC's decision and trust that it's been made with the players' safety and the quality of the game in mind.
'That said, as players, our job is to adapt and give our best no matter the surface. At the end of the day, it's not our decision. We respect whatever regulations that are in place and focus on performing at the highest level wherever we play. '
Since the Jalan Besar Stadium was first fitted with an artificial pitch in 2005, other SPL venues, such as the Jurong East Stadium and Our Tampines Hub, have followed suit as the authorities feel that such surfaces are easier to maintain than grass pitches in Singapore's humid climate.
Along the way, this has helped Singapore teams achieve some good results in international matches as visiting teams have often found it hard to deal with the pace, bounce and trajectory of the ball on the Jalan Besar pitch.
During last season's ACL Two, the Sailors played six home games at Jalan Besar, winning four times, drawing once and losing once as they qualified for a historic final.
Their opponents in the showpiece match, Emirati side Sharjah FC, complained that Jalan Besar was not worthy of the final. The match was then moved to Bishan Stadium, which was upgraded to a 10,000-seater venue in May, with Sharjah winning 2-1.
The AFC is not the only football organisation to ban artificial pitches. Scottish Premiership clubs also voted in 2024 for a similar ban from 2026.
Lee added: 'I don't think we can definitively say that playing on artificial pitches causes injuries because there is no conclusive evidence of causation. But from some players' feedback, it does impact them harder, and I believe those responses were taken into consideration.
'This is the decision the AFC has taken and we have to align and find the best solutions. It's not just about the game-day pitch, but also where we train at in the lead-up, and we will have to look at how we can breach the gap.'
David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.
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