The DESZ football club began playing on the new artificial turf last Saturday. DESZ Chairman Jaap Muis took a shot at the goal that was defended by Diederik Boer, goal keeper for FC Zwolle. The penalty was easily stopped, but that did not matter. With two new artificial turf fields, DESZ is ready for whatever the future brings. “I’m extremely pleased,” says Jaap Muis.

Harmonisation of artificial turf fields

The Municipality of Zwartewaterland had been holding talks with the football clubs of Olympia ’29, DESZ and Sportclub Genemuiden since 2008. The goal was to incorporate the agreements with the former municipalities of Zwartsluis, Hasselt and Genemuiden (which now fall under the Municipality of Zwartewaterland) into a new agreement. The matter was finally settled on 8 July with the signing of the agreement on the Harmonisation of artificial turf fields in the Municipality of Zwartewaterland. A budget was made available to the clubs, which has been used very creatively by DESZ. As a result, both the main playing field and the training field could be resurfaced with artificial grass.

Artificial turf is no longer an alternative…

After undergoing an extensive selection procedure, DESZ ultimately choose GreenFields, the FIFA Preferred Producer. The main playing field is now surfaced with artificial turf with a V-slide fibre. “The V-slide is one of our top products,” says Peter Schijf. “The blades of grass stay upright because the fibres are V-shaped. This makes it possible for players to get their foot under the ball, just like with natural grass.” These artificial turf systems can no longer be distinguished from natural grass fields: the ball rolls perfectly, the ball bounces like on a natural grass surface, and the grass is extremely sliding-friendly. In other words, the resulting field is good for both football players and the sport. And, in the end, that’s really all that matters.

The training field has also been surfaced with a V-shaped product. On this field, the lines are also marked off for junior matches. The artificial grass means that junior players can have fun kicking the ball under all weather conditions. Playing football in the mud is now a thing of the past.