Football is rightfully considered the most popular sport in the world. And this is not at all surprising - every day thousands of spectators witness the battles taking place on football fields in different parts of the planet. Some of them leave disappointed, others - exulting, the third may not be the same.
Typically, the viewer comes to the stadium, sits in a chair, watches the game and leaves. Few people think about how complex the arena design is, how it was designed, how long the football field, the height of the lawn, etc. But all these indicators are regulated by the governing competent authorities and for licensing the arena, their full compliance with the established standards is necessary.
What, in general, should be the length of the football field, width and other characteristics? The fact is that values are set that can vary within specified limits. The length of the football field must be at least 90 m (100 yards) and not more than 120 m (130 yards). Width - 45 and 90 meters, respectively. This means that the width and length of the football field, for example, at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk and the Maracan in Rio de Janeiro, may vary, but if they are within the established limits, the indicators will comply with generally accepted standards.
In addition to the mentioned length and width, special requirements are imposed on the height and width of the goal, the size of the goalkeeper and the penalty area, the location and size of the technical area, within which the coach can make oral corrections and give instructions to the players during the match.
In football, there is such a thing as a “home field factor”. As a rule, this is included in the concept by the fact that a team playing a match in their own stadium receives an advantage related to the support of their fans. Entire treatises have been written about how fans and ultras know how to “make” their own and morally suppress other people's football players. Moreover, support has long ceased to include only chants and various animations in the arena, it is rather developing into a separate art form.
But is this the only advantage of the home stadium? An ordinary fan is unlikely to think about how long a football field is, or, say, artificial or natural turf on the arena, but team coaches always analyze this information. Why? Because each team has its own style of play, adapted to the conditions (width and length of the football field including) of the stadium. Some teams promote total control of the ball, others play on the flanks, and others like to use long ball throws on one of the high forwards in the hope that the latter will win the fight against the opponent due to its dimensions. Naturally, the team plays half the games of the season at its stadium, and, consequently, the style of play is most tailored to the size of the home field. Based on these and other indicators, a specific coach of a particular football team builds tactics from match to match, from opponent to opponent, from season to season.