From the archive: ‘The Silicon Valley of turf’: how the UK’s pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2024

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2021: They used to look like quagmires, ice rinks or dustbowls, depending on the time of year. But as big money entered football, pristine pitches became crucial to the sport’s image – and groundskeepers became stars. By William Ralston. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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0:41.6	Hi Pod fans Max here from The Guardian Football Weekly Euro 2024 kicks off on the 14th of June.
0:48.5	We'll be releasing episodes every day of the tournament.
0:51.0	Following the Highs, England Scratchy Lake Win over Slovenia and the lower... of the and Scotland team, every day we'll be joined by experts on all the sides out in Germany
1:04.4	from Georgia to Poland if they're in it and everyone in between.
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1:11.1	Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
1:14.0	The Guardian Archive Long Read. Hi my name is William Ralston and I'm the writer of the Silicon Valley of Turf, how the UK's
1:35.2	pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football, which was published by the Guardian Longweed in
1:39.5	2021.
1:42.3	I came on to the story having read a short clip in the independent that spoke about what was a
1:46.9	sense of a transfer market for groundsman. I read about how groundsman from Lower League
1:52.0	clubs in the UK were basically being poached by the best
1:55.0	clubs in Europe, by Real Madrid, by Paris Agerman, and I was intrigued by the story of
	...

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