A game of football took place in the garden of Buckingham Palace on 7 October 2013, as part of The FA’s 150-year anniversary celebrations. We find out about the work required to produce the playing surface

Grounds care teams who saw media coverage of the football game, held recently at Buckingham Palace, applauded the efforts of Tony Stones, Wembley Stadium’s grounds manager and Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) member, who worked with royal household gardeners to create a beautiful pitch in the 39-acre garden.

The game – staged as part of The Football Association’s (FA) 150th anniversary celebrations – recognised the commitment of the 400,000-strong army of volunteers who dedicate hours to grassroots football throughout the UK.

The Duke of Cambridge, president of The FA, helped arrange the Southern Amateur League fixture between Polytechnic FC, which was established in 1875, and Civil Service FC, the only surviving club from the 11 which founded The FA in 1863. Around 200 spectators attended the event on an invitation-only basis – around 10 times the average attendance for either club.

The Duke hosted the event and presented medals to 150 grassroots volunteers in recognition of their dedication. The recipients were chosen for their outstanding contribution to football and the awards acknowledged the dedication of groundsmen as well as recognising their contribution to the development of the women’s game, refereeing and providing opportunities for disabled players.

The Queen wasn’t present, as The Duke commented: “Her Majesty, who has been the proud patron of The FA for 61 years, sends her regrets that she can’t join us today. The small silver lining to Her Majesty not being present is that there shouldn’t be any corgis running onto the pitch.”

Pitch preparation
Stones says the intention from the outset was to replicate Wembley’s Desso playing surface as closely as possible, including the creation of a criss-cross pattern in the turf – albeit on a 100m x 60m sward that’s a mixture of rye, bents and fescues, plus the odd patch or two of chamomile.

The grass had already been re-seeded in places to repair wear and tear caused by a busy summer of activities, from Royal garden parties to the staging of the Coronation Festival.

Having inspected the site, Stones said: “This will be fine to play football on; it’s in good shape. At Wembley, the grass is normally cut to a height of 19mm but we’ll increased that to 26mm here to give the lawn some protection.”

In the build-up to the game, royal household gardeners aerated the pitch then mowed it three times a week, making the final cut 24 hours before kick-off, as well as giving the turf two treatments of fertiliser ‘to green it up’.

Portable goals were used, to avoid too much disruption to the lawn, and the players were asked to use studs that were shorter than usual.

Focus on 100 per cent care
Preparations for the game coincided with a very busy time for Stones and his Wembley team; in the weeks before the game he attended the SALTEX show at Windsor Racecourse, where he joined the IOG’s Ask the Expert sessions, fitting this and the work at the palace in with preparations for an NFL (American football) fixture at Wembley.

Despite the number of commitments, Stones says his team remains focused whatever the event: “We treat every game the same – everything gets 100 per cent care; whether it’s a company day, the Champions League final or a game at the palace. It’s an honour to have been involved in this event but it’s not about us, it’s about the volunteers who were recognised on the day.”

As part of the FA’s 150-year celebrations, four volunteer groundsmen were recognised for going beyond the call of duty to raise standards in turf care at football facilities.

James Talbot from Nantwich Town FC, Mark Webb from Shortwood United FC, Brian Quinnell from Bognor Regis Town FC and Phil Bailey from South Normanton Athletic were all presented with their Groundsman of the Year awards at the palace by the Duke of Cambridge. Commenting on the recognition of volunteers, Geoff Webb, CEO of the IOG, said: “The fact that The FA has recognised the contribution made by volunteer groundsmen up and down the country reinforces how the groundscare industry is not only endorsed by national governing bodies, but also, importantly, how it continues to gain widespread national publicity through events like this. The IOG consistently champions the role of groundsmen, both professional and volunteer, and this includes our annual Industry Awards that achieve national recognition for the unstinting dedication of the groundscare sector.”

He added: “It’s also clear that the effort that went into converting the palace lawn into a football pitch typified the attitude and approach of Tony Stones and his team – and the groundscare industry as a whole. It was gratifying and appropriate to see that the decision was made to play this historic match on natural turf.”

To find out more about the Institute of Groundsmanship, go to www.iog.org or call +44 (0)1908 312 511