Singapore – At the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore a special moment in the Olympic history took place when the first ever Youth Olympic Games started with a preliminary football match between the girls’ team from Iran and Turkey on the 12th of August 2010. Only two times before in history the Olympics have been inaugurated: the Summer Olympics in Athens and the Winter Olympics in Chamonix.

Singapore’s birthplace of football

Jalan Besar Stadium is the perfect place for such a historic moment as the stadium is known as the “birthplace of football” in Singapore and already was the venue for major events such as the first Singapore Youth Festival in 1955, the first Singapore Armed Forces Day in 1969 and the 1984 National Day Parade.

Jalan Besar Stadium was originally built in 1932. It was rebuilt and reopened in June 2003. Featuring a 6,000 spectator capacity, the stadium was laid over again in 2008 with a better quality artificial turf as part of FIFA’s GOAL plan, making the Jalan Besar Stadium field the first-ever FIFA-approved 3rd generation Football Turf in Singapore. The stadium also hosts S.League games that are broadcasted on national television. S.League is the top professional football league in Singapore.

Artificial turf with v-shaped fibre

The artificial turf pitch was constructed with the use of GreenFields’ V-slide system. Unlike conventional flat shaped fibres, this v-shaped fibre allows the ball to interact with the fibre as it would with a natural grass surface. The V-shape fibre is constructed very much like a natural blade of grass in that it has a V-shape spine along its length; this provides a structural memory and assists the fibre in remaining vertical. The football then has the ability to sit on top of the fibre providing not only a natural look but allows the player, when kicking the ball to gain enough leverage underneath and provide truly natural playability characteristics.

Sophocles Sophocleous, Sales Manager of GreenFields, says: “The players will notice the advantages of the v-shaped fibre. They will experience natural playing characteristics: comfortable ball kick, superior ball roll, familiar ball bounce, natural resistance, and sliding friendly surface. As a result they will feel comfortable, “at home” and enjoy the game on artificial turf just like on natural turf”