Supplementary Files for Football Surface Compliance and Stiffness Study

126 football pitches and turf samples were tested for vertical compliance and rotational stiffness using FIFA-approved devices. The supplementary PDF files contain data that informed revisions to the FIFA Quality Programme's performance thresholds for playing surfaces. Author David James published the files under a CC BY 4.0 license in May 2026.

Use Cases

• Comparing the shock absorption of natural, hybrid, and artificial turf systems based on the described vertical compliance measurements.
• Evaluating player safety and performance by analyzing the rotational stiffness data from the Rotational Traction Athlete device.
• Informing the development and revision of sports field quality standards based on the study's findings for FIFA.

Strengths

• Dataset is directly linked to a peer-reviewed scientific study with a clear methodology.
• Results are based on measurements from 126 distinct football pitches and turf samples.
• The data contributed to revisions of the official FIFA Quality Programme thresholds.

Limitations

• The dataset is very small at 238.7 KB, suggesting limited raw data.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred from the PDF.
• The data format is PDF, which may require extraction for computational analysis.

Provenance

Source

figshare, author David James

Collection Method

Measurements taken in-situ and in laboratory using FIFA's Advanced Artificial Athlete and Rotational Traction Athlete devices.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 14:14:56