Irish company installs pitch for World Cup final

Irish-owned SIS Pitches has installed the pitch for this summer's Fifa World Cup final in Russia.

SIS Pitches was selected to design, construct and install six of the 12 pitches to be used at the tournament, including at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

The stadium will host the opening game, the opening ceremony, a semi-final as well as the World Cup final itself. It will be the first time that a World Cup final has been played on anything but all-natural grass.

SIS Pitches was set up in 2001 by chief executive George Mullan, who directs the company from Sligo.

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It uses a “sophisticated reinforced natural turf system” called SISGrass, as well as its “revolutionary aeration technology”. The company said the Luzhniki Stadium would have the “most technologically advanced” pitch in World Cup history.

Mr Mullan said the pitches would be resilient in all conditions.

“It was an absolute honour to have been chosen to not only design, construct and install the pitch at the Luzhniki Stadium but at six of the 12 World Cup venues,” he said.

“It’s the first time a World Cup final has been played on anything but all-natural grass. SISGrass was only launched in 2015 and already it has been installed at a number of world-class stadiums and now the 2018 World Cup final will be played on it.

“The quality of SISGrass will ensure that the pitches are resilient in all conditions, and I am sure the 2018 World Cup finals will be one that we will always remember.”

The other stadiums at which the company has or will install pitches include the Otkritie Arena, which is the home of Spartak Moscow. The 45,000-seater stadium will host Lionel Messi and his Argentina team-mates in their opener against World Cup debutants Iceland.

Elsewhere, it will install pitches at the Rostov Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium, Samara Arena, and Saransk Arena.