But the quality of the playing surface isn’t the only consideration for sports teams. There are financial and environmental quandaries to mull over too. Renewed scrutiny of playing surfaces has led to more serious discussions of alternatives to natural grass and, in 2014, the Football League voted on whether to reintroduce artificial grass pitches.

Football’s complicated relationship with artificial grass began four decades ago. In the 1980s, several Football League teams installed AstroTurf. At first, it was praised as a forward-thinking move; later, it was derided by opposition players and fans – who lamented the advantage it supposedly gave the home team. By 1994, AstroTurf pitches had disappeared from the professional game in England; and a year later, they were banned indefinitely.