Boasting a range of world class facilities, the Highland Football Academy (HFA) plays an important role in keeping communities fit, from local school children to professional football teams.
When its 12 year old artificial pitch began struggling to perform as required, the Academy’s staff knew a full replacement would be needed sooner rather than later.
As the only facility of its kind in the Scottish Highlands, the HFA is run by the Highland Football Academy Trust – a partnership between the local Council, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC and Ross County FC – and plays an important role in developing young footballing talent.
After instigating a competitive tender process, the HFA Trust appointed Ecosse Sports, a Scottish-based specialist sports surfacing contractor, to undertake the complete overhaul of the dated surface.
Ecosse put forward TigerTurf’s Football 50 XP Pro artificial grass as being the perfect match for the HFA’s needs. Boasting a dense, multi-fibre appearance and realistic performance, the surface is perfect for 3G football pitches used frequently by community clubs, as is the case at the HFA.
Soon after, the 2,400m2 surface was installed with a brand new shockpad underneath – making it much more comfortable and safe to play on for young and old alike. Not only that, but by replacing a pitch which had been lacking in quality, the Academy was also able to avoid the risk of its sports hall having to close.
Nick Gamble, Facilities Manager at the Highland Football Academy, said: “We couldn’t be happier with our new pitch. Our facilities are used by a variety of players, ranging from Premier League teams to local kids’ clubs, so we knew the new surface needed to be reliable and durable above all else. Having a new artificial grass football pitch has given us a much better quality facility, which can only benefit the quality of play and coaching over the course of the season.”
For more information on TigerTurf’s range of specialist sports surfaces, visit www.tigerturf.co.uk, or to find out more about Ecosse Sports, go to www.ecossesports.co.uk.
