Is There Any Difference Between a Football Field and a Football Pitch?

One of the things that make football the most popular sport in the world, courtesy of the Football Internationale de Football Association, FIFA, is that it can be played just anywhere; from the official football playing fields or pitches to gymnasiums, streets, school playgrounds, parks, or beaches.

It is unlike some other sports, including cricket, golf, basketball, and rugby, that must be played at specially designated places.

However, there is an official name for the place where football is played.

What is the official name of that place? 

You wanna guess?

While some people call it “Football Field,” others call it “Football Pitch.”

A Football Field or a Football Pitch (also known as Soccer Field or Soccer Pitch), is, therefore, the playing surface for the game of association football.

The playing surface of a football field or pitch may be natural or artificial.  It is artificial when it is made of natural green grass, and artificial when it is made with green synthetic material. 

More of this in our subsequent posts.

Have you ever wondered why a “soccer field” is also called a “soccer pitch?”

Is a “football field” truly the same as a “football pitch?”  Or, Is there any difference between the two terms?

Find the answer to this question below.

The game of Cricket, in England, is known to have started there during the Saxon or Norman times by children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands and clearings in south-east England.

The first reference to cricket being played as an adult sport was in 1611, and the first known game in which the teams use county names is in 1709.

The name of the place where cricket was played, at that time, and until this day, is known as a pitch.

What the foregoing paragraphs mean, therefore, is that cricket started in England, where football development started, long before the arrival of football.

When football started becoming popular as a sport in England in the 1800s, there weren’t specialized football facilities for its players to practice their game.

In the absence of specialized football facilities, football players had to make do with cricket pitches, which were almost everywhere because of the popularity of the cricket game.

When football started developing its own designated playing areas and facilities, those facilities became to be known as “football fields,” but before then many people, including those at the association football level, had already become used to “football pitch.”

In other words, when soccer and association football began to grow in popularity, designated playing areas were set up for the playing of soccer, but when the sport moved to its own playing locations, the name “soccer pitch” borrowed from cricket, stuck.

This is why it is common to hear some people call it “soccer pitch,” while some other people, especially in North America, call it “soccer field.”

The answer to the above question, “Is there any difference between the “football field” and “football pitch?” therefore, is NO!

The two terms mean the same thing in the world of soccer. 

There’s nothing wrong, therefore, for you to say “football field” or “football pitch.”

The two terms, “football field” and “football pitch” can be used interchangeably.

There’s no difference between them, as far as soccer is concerned.

By John Asamoah

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