Matchday operations
Match mornings, in order
The grounds work that happens with kick-off on the clock: a structured pitch inspection and a repeatable line-marking routine — both printable, both clear about who makes the final call.
- Pitch inspection checklist
Surface, water, footing, debris, goals, lines and weather — with a clear escalation rule and a printable sheet. The interactive version is the pitch inspection tool.
- Line-marking session checklist
Preparation, measurements from the Laws of the Game, machine checks, weather judgement and clean-up — a routine that produces the same lines every time.
The matchday principle
Matchday grounds work is evidence work. The groundskeeper’s job is to observe honestly, fix what can safely be fixed in the time available, and give the match official a truthful picture — because the decision to play belongs to the official, not the checklist. Everything under this hub is built around that boundary, and around the winter rule the seasonal guidance states plainly: player safety before fixtures.
Related, but not matchday
The week-to-week care that makes match mornings quiet lives in pitch care; the wet-day decision tree is under waterlogged pitch.