I remember looking at the Women’s World cup soccer matches here in the USA. Those games were played on converted American football fields. Shortly thereafter, I was looking at highlights for some English league soccer games. Two things struck me.
It seemed the women were playing on a slightly larger field. But I may have been deceived because obviously the men were MUCH faster (legit 4.3 speed, I would say), and that may have made the field seem smaller because it took less time to run down stray passes and kicks. Also the speed of the game with the men was something to behold compared to women’s soccer. Were my eyes deceiving me? What is the official length for an international soccer field vs. the stadiums in Britain?
There are a set of guidelines within which a regulation football pitch must fall, but no set single size. I don’t recall the exact figures. From my own experience, it seemed to me that Highbury (Arsenal FC, scum) has a very small pitch and Maine Road (Manchester City, crap) was/is huge. These may have changed. I seem to remember it being allowable to use a square pitch, probably 90 metres by 90 metres.
Dimensions
The field of play must be rectangular. The length of the touch line must be greater than the length of the goal line.
Length: minimum 90 m (100 yds), maximum 120 m (130 yds)
Width: minimum 45 m (50 yds), maximum 90 m (100 yds)
International Matches
Length: minimum 100 m (110 yds), maximum 110 m (120 yds)
Width: minimum 64 m (70 yds), maximum 75 m (80 yds)
During the '94 world cup games were played on converted American Football stadiums. If I remember correctly these are quite narrow -one thing that stuck with me was anyone taking a corner didn’t have enough space for a decent run up and normally played the short ball instead.
Getting a 70 yd wide field on a converted American football field could be a problem. Some stadiums could easily do it around here, but others could be a problem.
FIFA prefers 75 yards wide for full-fledged international competitions. As I recall, none of the American pitches managed that width during USA '94. Since an American football field is only 160 feet wide (53 yards), the trouble comes in most stadiums in the corners of the pitch, where the stadiums narrow down.
The typical result of a narrow field is a more ‘vertical’ game. Soccer’s main tactical goal is development of ‘space’, that is, area within which to control and maneuver the ball. On a wide field, the space is often created by taking the ball to the touchlines (sidelines, called touchlines because when the ball crosses them and goes out of play, you can ‘touch’ the ball), which pulls defenders out from the center of the field, opening space into which the ball is then played. On a narrow field, less available space means the game is played more with an eye to getting behind the defenders (that is, closer to the goal line than they are), emphasizing speed and passes straight down the field.
The women’s game is affected by two things: they play a slower game, and they can’t kick the ball as far, as hard. Mind you, I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of a Mia Hamm goal attempt, but compared to, say a shot from Ronaldo, it simply doesn’t go as far as fast. This means the ball takes longer to shift around the field, making it seem larger. Perversely, this actually makes the women’s game that much harder to play; the lack of speed means that it is harder for them to create ‘space’.
