Mr Ferguson proves he is ‘Pitch Perfect’ at the World Cup in Qatar!

Our very own Rory Ferguson is on an exciting adventure in Qatar, working for FIFA. Hear what he has to say below…..

“I am a Pitch Venue Manager for FIFA, and I am based at the training grounds. I am responsible for the performance testing and monitoring of 13 of the 32 training ground sites at the World Cup currently being held in Qatar. This means that I go to a training site to test the primary and secondary training pitches to ensure that they meet the FIFA international pitch standard and are fit for use by the players.

The tests I perform look at the firmness of the pitch by using a bit of equipment called a ‘clegg hammer’; the moisture content by using a ‘delta moisture meter’ and we test player foot traction with our ‘traction meter’. Finally, we perform a visual inspection of the pitch to identify any diseases and check visual presentation.

These results are then put into a report that gets sent to the Senior Pitch Manager at FIFA. We look back at these over the tournament to see how the pitches are performing and if any maintenance/repair work needs to be carried out. Our objective in this approach is to have the training pitches perform as close to the stadium pitches as possible across the World Cup so every team is treated equally.

I first got involved with FIFA in 2019 when I was asked to be Pitch Venue Manager for the U20’S Men’s World Cup. This involved the same things I am currently doing in Qatar in terms of testing and making sure the pitches are ready for play. A few months after this I was asked to be part of the Workshop Team for Qatar 2022. The workshop consisted of staff from FIFA and other companies supplying equipment for use at the World Cup. My role was to show and teach the local ground teams how to mark out a football pitch from scratch, and the importance of getting the line marking right for a World Cup.

A year after this I was asked if I would like to be involved in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as a PVM, which I was delighted to accept, and here we are today!”

Mr Ferguson is returning home next week and as a school we cannot wait to welcome him back and hear more about his adventures in Qatar.