Football fans who attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup matches in Qatar are accustomed to watching the field of the match they attend 3 times, twice before the match, and a third between halftime, which we will explain for reasons.
And through powerful electronically controlled taps hidden under the ground, the stadiums are sprayed about an hour before the match, that is, immediately before the warm-up process, so that the goalkeepers, who are always the first to go down to the field to warm up, go down while the taps are still working in many cases. .
Once the warm-up is over, the field is sprayed again, and this is repeated between the two halves of the match, but this is followed by the arrival of a group of individuals specialized in repairing any defect that appears on the floor furnished with green natural grass, which may be damaged as a result of strong contacts between the players.
Stadium workers follow up the field spraying and fix any problem in the grass between the two halves of the Qatar World Cup matches (Reuters)
The Secret of the Wet Earth
Al-Jazeera Net went to some experts to explain the secret of spraying the stadium before matches. Muhammad Nafeh, a specialist in supervising and maintaining stadiums for nearly two decades, said that the secret of this lies in the fact that the ground must be wet and not dry while playing on it, as this helps the players to Run better, and give them greater stability, by wearing shoes designed for natural grass.
Nafeh pointed out that there is another goal, which is to increase the speed of the ball by sliding it on the wet grass faster than if it was dry, stressing that this increases the speed of play and makes the players more focused to keep up with this speed.
As for the administrator of Al-Jaish Club and former Qatar champion Tharwat Salem, he says that spraying the stadium has been followed for a long time in matches and even training, to the point that - sometimes - the stadium was sprayed during training, explaining that the hotter the weather;
The lawn needed to be sprayed more often.
Salem indicated that the spraying is professional, as it is light so that it only wets and softens the grass, but does not flood the playing field, stressing that cold countries do not resort to spraying their stadiums that are naturally wet from cold weather or snow.
In a medical opinion, Dr. Osama Abdul Rashid, consultant for sports medicine and stadium injuries, told Al Jazeera Net that soft ground is beneficial for players, as it reduces bounce while running on joints (foot and knee joints) as well as the spine, as running on dry ground causes some health problems, injuries and roughness in the knee. at the long term.
He adds that the softness of the ground makes it safe to fall or slip on the grass;
As the players do not suffer from abrasions and injuries, stressing the necessity of a good warm-up, and wearing appropriate shoes for the wet ground to avoid injuries.