In 2008, 950 Mini-Pitches went up at schools and clubs all over Germany, and the last of the 1,019 DFB Mini-Pitches followed in 2009. Eighteen years later, most are still played on every day, longer than the roughly 15 years their turf was designed for. How it all began is told in 1,000 Mini-Pitches for Germany. This story is about what has kept the pitches going for so long, what wears with time, and how they get ready for the years ahead.
Built for everyday life on the school playground
A pitch used every day by school classes, club teams and kids from the neighbourhood, unsupervised and in all weather, has to take more than a sports ground. That is why TÜV Rheinland tested the board system as a complete system to DIN EN 15312 for freely accessible multi-sport equipment.
The supporting structure is hot-dip galvanised to DIN EN ISO 1461. The boards are double-skinned sandwich panels with steel skins and a rigid PU foam core. They are not screwed through but held floating by clamping plates, so they can expand in the heat without warping. The goals are bolted and secured against loosening, and the nets hang on aluminium net rods with stainless steel screws. Across more than 1,000 sites, noise and vandalism remained the exception.
What lasts and what wears
The structure and the boards are built for many years. What the ball and the weather hit every day wears out: the nets grow brittle over time, the turf fibres get played down, and the surface compacts when leaves and dirt are left on it. Our care and maintenance guides therefore recommend a visual check every week, a thorough inspection once a year and a deep clean of the turf about every two years.
Spare parts, even after 18 years
We still supply the original parts for the DFB Mini-Pitches today: the complete set of replacement nets, single nets, net rods, screws and tools, and larger parts such as board panels, goals or doors on request. Original parts fit without changes, and the pitch stays in the condition TÜV tested.
Ready for the years ahead
Where more needs doing, we renovate: new turf with sand-only infill, while the old turf is recycled; new boards, goals, doors and nets; an inspection to EN 15312 with a written report. Things that did not exist in 2008 can be added too, such as a twin-wire mesh ball stop instead of nets, LED floodlights, or basketball and volleyball on the same surface.
A programme with successors
The DFB Mini-Pitches became a model: the Brandenburg football association had another 84 pitches built, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 15, and many other clients around 300 more SoccerGround pitches. Do you have a Mini-Pitch that has seen better days? Write to us, ideally with a few photos.
