HANGZHOU, 27 September 2007
Already blamed for the bungled rearrangement of matches at the end of the group stages, for the temporary closure of Media Centres, for re-allocation of spaces for press conferences and the mixed zones, the typhoon that never really was has now been blamed for the poor state of the pitch at the Hongkou Stadium.
In a press release the Media Department of the Local Organising Committee says: “Due to damage suffered during the recent Typhoon Wipha that struck the Shanghai area, the local Venue Organizing Committee decided to renew the pitch at Hongkou Stadium to meet the high standards necessary for the upcoming final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup”
Anyone who attended the opening fixture in Shanghai could have seen that even before the typhoon (which, in the end, did not directly hit the city) the patch-work pitch at Hongkou should not have been passed fit for the biggest tournament in women’s football.
In addition to this, the chronology of events seems a little confused. The press release says that an inspection was made of the pitch “On the morning of September 25″ followed by “a solution search meeting”. This suggests that it was at this point they decided a new turf was needed. However, it goes on to say that a “Pitch Maintenance group” has been working on the project since September 19. These hard workers have “managed to select, transport the new grass and implement the project in a short time.”
Which is all very nice. The pitch desperately needed replacing. But why did no one think to do so before? Why wait until a week before the final when the tournament has been in planning stages for years? Why close the Hongkou Stadium closed for a year to prepare for the tournament without making sure the pitch is 100% perfect?
Answers came there none.
We are promised a “first class pitch for the final”. Possibly the best outcome would be if, after the final day, nobody is talking about the pitch.
