After a nail-biting final between Senegal and Morocco at the African Cup of Nations, STRI Group is celebrating the work of its consultancy team at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, where they have been providing onsite technical and agronomic supervision, and tournament support.
Appointed by Valtech, STRI’s consulting team has spent ten weeks embedded at the stadium, working with partners and in-house teams to support the preparation and performance of the playing surface in the lead-up to, and throughout the competition. The team focused on ensuring pitch consistency, playability and resilience under the intense demands of a major international tournament delivered to full FIFA standards.
The tournament presented several significant challenges, primarily related to climatic conditions. Morocco experienced exceptionally heavy rainfall this winter, bringing an end to a seven-year drought and requiring rapid adaptation of maintenance strategies and implementation of mitigation measures. In parallel, the stadium team undertook the complex task of transitioning the pitch from warm-season to cool-season grasses ahead of the tournament, which is no mean feat.
The pitch needed to withstand the opening and closing ceremony, with rehearsals seeing up to 600 people on the pitch at one time, with every pair of feet adding extra stress to the turf. This is a demanding process in any tournament, made even more challenging by the fact that this was the first major event hosted in a brand-new stadium.
Despite the conditions, the pitch delivered consistently high performance throughout the tournament reflecting the quality, safety and playability of the surface for elite-level football.
The success of the playing surface is testament to the expertise, experience and dedication of STRI’s on-site consultancy team: Colin Lyons, Stella Rixon, Mark Murphy and Joe Woodcock, who worked in close collaboration with local stakeholders to support day-to-day decision-making and long-term pitch performance standards.
STRI’s lead consultant Colin Lyons commented:
“Delivering consistency and playability under tournament conditions, particularly in the face of extreme weather and complex agronomic transitions. is an outstanding achievement for all involved. This project demonstrates the value of expert, on-site consultancy and the commitment of our team in supporting world-class sporting surfaces. It has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside such dedicated professionals from the contractor and stadium teams.”
STRI would like to thank VALTECH for their trust and collaboration throughout the project and congratulate all involved on a highly successful tournament.
