Which MUGA surface is best for football?

If you are interested in having a MUGA surface constructed at your school, leisure centre or sports club, you need to do the proper research into the most suitable surface available. With a number of different options at your disposal it can be easy to choose the wrong one.

An often overlooked sport on MUGA courts is football. Many MUGA surfaces make for an excellent space for football, while others aren’t quite as suitable. Here we look at the different surfaces available to see which one might be best for playing football on.

All-weather macadam

This is the most commonly found MUGA surface as it is typically the cheapest and has excellent durability. However, while macadam is a good surface for a wide variety of sports it isn’t the best for football. You can technically play football on this surface but the fact that is very hard and has no give means that it is more difficult for goalkeepers to play on. It is also slippery when wet and the nature of the surface makes it impossible to perform certain moves such as slide tackles.

Matchplay 2 synthetic

Another very popular MUGA surface is that of Matchplay 2. A cushioned surface that isn’t too hard on the joints, this type of court is designed for sports like hockey and netball, however, it is also possible to play football on the surface. As it is sand dressed it will slow down the ball, but this is an acceptable surface for most aspects of football.

Conqueror 3G

The Third Generation Conqueror surface is perfectly suited to football thanks to its characteristics that are very similar to natural grass. Unlike the others it is possible play on a 3G pitch with studded boots and the overall experience is very much like playing on a real pitch.