Cage Football Turf Project in Cambodia

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This UNIGRASS project is located in central Phnom Penh, Cambodia, co-developed with the Cambodian local government. Construction started in July 2020 and was fully completed in November 2020 after 5 months of on-site work.

The original single 7-a-side football area was designed to be split into three separate 5-a-side football pitches, allowing multiple football matches or training sessions to run simultaneously. UNIGRASS Max Pro football turf with S-shaped grass fiber and PU backing was supplied for this venue. The turf delivers stable ball roll, excellent resilience and long-term wear resistance, built to endure Cambodia’s hot and strong UV climate.

The Challenge 

1. Limited Space with Zero Ball Escape Margin

The football pitch is located in a densely built area of central Phnom Penh, next to an occupied multi-storey building. There is no extra buffer zone or spare land on-site. Preventing footballs from flying out of the court was a core requirement and the top priority for the whole design.

2. Construction Beside Active Occupied Premises

Installation work was carried out adjacent to a building still in daily use. Material delivery access was restricted, and there was no area to store turf rolls and supplies. We arranged the whole construction sequence including turf laying, seaming and infill transportation, to keep construction quiet, tidy and fully restricted within the pitch boundary.

3. Nighttime Operation Is The Main Revenue Source

Local football bookings peak after work hours. The venue mainly generates income with floodlit evening games. Wet turf or balls escaping the field would directly cause lost booking revenue. Therefore, drainage performance and ball containment system were specially customized to support stable nighttime operatio

4. Heavy, Frequent Daily Usage

The court hosts youth training, corporate bookings and evening leagues with non-stop high-intensity use. Unlike regular open football fields, caged pitches create concentrated wear: frequent sharp turns on fixed lines, repeated full-width sprints and heavy impact along the perimeter.

UNIGRASS Solution

1. Turf Engineered for Constant Rotation

UNIGRASS supplied a two-tone artificial football turf built for high-frequency small-sided play. The dense monofilament polyethylene fibres carry a UV stabilisation package that resists photodegradation, so the surface keeps its colour and elasticity through years of Cambodian sunlight rather than fading within a season — a standard that matters when a facility is rented by the hour and photographed by every customer who plays on it. Equally important is that this fibrous structure has been specially designed to remain upright even after repeated stomping, ensuring consistent stability throughout the entire day of the competition.

2. A Containment-First Enclosure

Surrounded by occupied buildings, this site required the enclosure to be built into the playing system, not fitted as an afterthought fence. We installed galvanised chain-link perimeter fencing, extended upward with high-tensile fine-mesh netting to full containment height to hold balls inside the court and prevent disruption to the neighbouring area. Fence alignment, netting height and turf edging were coordinated together to form one continuous boundary with no gaps at the base.

3. Dual-Colour Woven-In Markings for Multi-Format Play

The venue’s yellow and white lines are woven into the turf at the manufacturing stage instead of painted on. They will not chip, smudge or wash out. Yellow lines outline the main small-sided pitches, while white boundary and centre-circle markings define the surrounding play zone. This allows operators to run different match formats and youth groups on the same pitch, with no repainting required between bookings. Precisely fixed markings provide the reliable boundaries essential for cage football.

4. Floodlighting for the Evening Peak

Pole-mounted floodlights are placed and angled to illuminate every playing zone evenly, removing dark corners along the busy perimeter areas. Extending usable hours deep into the evening makes this urban site a profitable venue. Operators can book continuous night sessions during peak demand, rather than missing the highest-earning time slot when daylight ends.

5. Drainage and Low-Maintenance Operation

The turf adopts permeable backing to drain rainwater instantly. Paired with a professionally prepared sub-base, the pitch can quickly reopen for play after heavy rainfall instead of remaining closed. This system needs no irrigation, mowing or seasonal turf renewal. Maintenance work is limited to turf brushing, occasional infill top-ups and regular checks on netting and floodlights. For operators of this busy urban venue, maintenance overhead stays predictable and free from weather disruption.

RESULTS and OUTCOMES

Completed in November 2020, this multi 5-a-side caged football venue has become a popular community football hub in central Phnom Penh.