Just a few kilometres from Paris, the municipality of Villepinte (around 38,000 inhabitants) has recently completed the renovation of the Complexe Sportif André Mariage, which houses the football pitch that’s home to Flamboyants Club.
In 2021, the Villepinte club, with its 400 members and the first team promoted to league D1, found itself at a crossroads: the old synthetic turf pitch, installed in 2005, no longer complied with the regulations of the French Football Federation so it had to be replaced.
The Complexe Sportif is available to the community of Villepinte seven days a week:
from the schools that use it in the morning, to the afternoon training of the numerous youth groups, and of course the Flamboyants first team that hosts a championship game every other weekend. Not to mention the cultural events.
It was therefore necessary to replace the old playing surface with a new one that met the requisites of the French football association and could withstand such intensive use by the local community without getting damaged.
16 October 2021 saw the inauguration of the Complexe Sportif André Mariage, dedicated to the former deputy mayor and councillor for sport of the municipality of Villepinte.
To meet the needs of the official team and the other groups involved, the work was completed in just three and a half months.
The choice of the synthetic turf system for the football pitch was made by the municipal administration in collaboration with Flamboyants Club:
"It was the choice of the club that uses the field, dictated mainly by the fact that this system ensures comfortable playing conditions very similar to those of a natural grass surface” explains the current sports councillor in Villepinte, Max Maran. “For some time now we’ve been regularly involving the sports clubs in the projects we carry out: we work in total collaboration, relying on their experience as the real users to make the final decisions."
The Flamboyants wanted a comfortable, high-performance pitch that was also sustainable: a synthetic turf field without performance infill, that could be certified by the French Football Federation but at the same time was more environmentally friendly than rubber infill systems (SBR) and required less maintenance than systems with organic infills.
The choice fell on the MondoTurf X3T PLUS 22 A EF system, which combines a MONDO X3T PLUS surface with an elastic polyurethane foam undermat.
The elastic effect of the fibres, combined with the cushioning action of the underlay, improves shock absorption and renders the use of performance infill superfluous.
The system is therefore free of microplastics, and is simply stabilised with silica sand.
"The players and technicians are satisfied with the pitch, which is soft and has already helped reduce injuries.
In addition, it has no performance infill covering the fibres so the aesthetic effect is excellent and more like natural grass" says Cirille Kouassi, technical director of the Flamboyants.
Apart from the football pitch itself, two warm-up areas with the same technical characteristics have also been created behind one of the goals.
The peculiarity of a synthetic grass football pitch without infill is to offer durability and constant performance over time. In the case of a system like that of Villepinte however, subjected to intense use, attention and accurate maintenance are necessary.
Given the club’s satisfaction with the performance of the pitch, and aware of the needs of the system, the Department of Sport of Villepinte has decided to take direct charge of the routine maintenance which involves the weekly/fortnightly brushing of the new synthetic surface to keep it in good condition.
Fundamental care to guarantee the Complexe Sportif André Mariage is available seven days a week, allowing it to become the beating heart of the city's sports community.