The Best Artificial Turf for Football

Want a wear-resistant, consistent all-weather artificial turf for football? You heard it here first: TigerTurf NRG products are the future of synthetic football turf.

Tiger Turf has two NRG (No-Rubber Granules) products available for football turfs: Endurance NRG and NGR XWR (Extreme Wear Resistant).

Endurance NRG is a non-infilled product suitable for multi-sports, futsal, and mini football. This artificial turf is constructed of two of the most wear-resistant yarns available on the market.

NRG XWR is a non-infilled product suitable for multi-sports, futsal, and football. This artificial turf is constructed with two of the most wear-resistant yarns available on the market: a combination of TenCate Grass’ XWR yarn, and our highly durable texturised hockey yarn.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Why NRG products are the future of football synthetic turf
• The construction of NRG products
• The features and benefits of NRG products

Recent innovations in artificial grass football fields mean the surface can reproduce the playing qualities of natural grass. This has led to artificial surfaces becoming a more popular choice.

The pros and cons of natural vs artificial grass are well discussed, however, NRG products take the benefits of artificial football turf to another level. Due to no performance infill (rubber):

• The product doesn’t absorb all the heat (like rubber does).
• The traditional rubber infill in synthetic sports turf isn’t present in NRG so this mobile microplastic doesn’t migrate off the fields into drains, nor does it go home in socks and boots. This means no littering of rubber in cars, washing machines, and most importantly into our waterways affecting marine life.
• Lower maintenance than natural grass while still looking good.
• Players experience better performance as extensive testing shows the new generation of non-performance infilled turfs perform more like natural turf than the infilled synthetic turfs.
• Players report being less tired and don’t have as sore muscles when playing on NRG products.
• The ball sits up and on the turf better.
• Less recoil caused by traditional infills = less stress, fatigue and injury for players.
• There is no rubber to dispose of at the end of the NRG’s lifespan.
• Lisport XL testing shows the NRG products last longer than their infilled predecessors.

Our NRG products are made with either TenCate Grass XP yarn (Endurance NRG) or the TenCate diamond-shaped Extreme Wear yarn (NRG XWR) combined with our texturised monofilament.

The texturised monofilament is the thatch at the bottom of the product.  This holds up the main turf fibre and allows the boot sprigs to sit in it nicely.

The thatch also provides support to the straight primary fibres allowing them to stand up longer and have more resilience than traditional infilled turf systems.

NRG XWG is mixed with our texturised monofilament hockey yarn to provide a denser thatch layer.

Construction can be either tufted or woven. A small amount of sand can then be applied to assist with product stability, keeping the product cooler but retaining moisture (a great side-benefit).

This process provides the ultimate combination of advanced performance and durability resulting in long-lasting and versatile artificial turf for football.

A note on Shock Pads with NRG products

To optimise the durability and performance of NRG products, as well as provide added protection for the players, we recommend using a shock pad like Sine or Ecocept underneath the turf.

There might be some applications, such as primary and middle school fields, where shock pads are not critical – however, we recommend you discuss your options with one of our experts.

Whether you choose Endurance NRG or NGR XWR, your artificial football turf will provide consistent high-performance playing conditions that are unaffected by weather, all while not needing to use rubber infill or microplastics.

General benefits of NRG

The general benefits of NRG for owners are:

• Considerably greater longevity than natural fields increased hours of field usage, and more teams playing.
• Straightforward and cost-effective maintenance routines ensure surface performance for the life of the turf.
• No mobile infill means no smell and no need to top up infill levels.
• No mobile microplastics.
• The 7-year manufacturer’s warranty.

The general benefits of NRG for players:

• Replicates the playing characteristics of a natural grass field.
• Safe and suitable playing conditions provide consistent, high-performance playing conditions.
• Fields are unaffected by weather, meaning longer playing hours and the end of field closures.

Due to TenCate Grass’ unique XP pro yarn, Endurance NRG is the only yarn product in the world sold with an unlimited 5-year durability warranty.

Players are also able to play with flat-soled shoes, eliminating the need for students to continually change footwear.

For owners considering the upgrade to NRG XWR, it’s worth noting a few additional benefits.

It is manufactured from a unique combination of TenCate Grass’ diamond-shaped Extreme Wear (XWR) monofilament yarn and our highly durable texturised monofilament hockey yarn.

It’s also FIH Multi-sport Class 3 certification makes it ideal for both hockey and football.

Ready to embrace the future of artificial turf for football? Give our friendly team a call. You can also check out our synthetic football turf options here.