What is a soccer pitch?

While it’s hard to pin point the inventor of soccer, it is widely claimed that it originated in the United Kingdom. Hence, most of the terms and laws and everything else are rooted in British culture. This also includes the names of everything related to the sport.

While the majority of the world follows the British terminology, some countries like the US differ in them a bit. For example, football is called soccer in the US but their version of football is known as rugby in certain places in the world. And this is where the confusion around the term ‘Pitch’ comes in.

What is a soccer pitch?

In the US, when you say ‘pitch’, one would often think of the action of a baseball player throwing a ball towards the batter. With football and cricket both not being that popular in the country, this would be an understandable situation as well.

However, in soccer, the playing field is called a pitch. It is meant to be a rectangular field with proper markings with goals on either end of the longer side.

Why is it called a pitch?

A soccer-playing area being called a pitch has its roots in cricket!

Back in 1861, the Laws of the Game were founded at a meeting of the English Football Association. It meant the formalization of the sport. Back then, it was mainly a tool to help cricketers stay fit and get entertainment during the winter months.

In cricket, the act of putting the wickets and stumps in the group was called ‘pitching’. The term ‘pitch’ later extended to the entire 22 yards between the two ends and eventually to the entire ground.

Now, as aforementioned, soccer was initially just a game to help cricketers stay fit and warm during the winter months. It was played on the cricket fields itself and hence, the term ‘pitch’ was formalised in the sport.

What are the dimensions of a soccer pitch?

There are certain dimensions and other criteria that a pitch must follow to make it eligible for professional soccer matches. The International Football Association Board (IFAB) dictates these rules.

A pitch should be between 100-130 yards long. While the ideal length is generally 120 yards, the range allows clubs to put together a pitch according to their location, resources, and other factors. For example, one cannot expect the pitch of a top Premier League club to be similar to that of a club in the second tier of English football.

These pitches need to have lines running across the sides, forming a rectangle. The halfway line, penalty boxes, and semi-circular lines outside the penalty area and in the center of the pitch must be properly marked.

The width of the pitch also has a range but an ideal width is around 75 yards. This makes the total size to be around 81,000 square feet or 1.86 acres.

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Also Read: A Complete Guide for Basic Rules of Soccer