The direct answer: never mark by eye against last week’s ghost. String the long lines, work from fixed reference points, keep the machine clean and walking pace steady, and put the measurements from the Laws of the Game — not memory — on the tape.
1. Prepare
- Check the weather: paint on a saturated surface or ahead of heavy rain is a wasted session — the wet-pitch rules apply to marking too.
- Check the machine: clean, working, no dried residue from last time. The seasonal calendar’s August entry — service the marking equipment before the season — is what makes this check quick.
- Mow first where possible: lines sit better on a cut surface, and the mowing bands keep the two jobs compatible.
- Gather string lines, pegs, a long tape and the pitch’s measurement sheet.
2. String the reference lines
- Work from the existing fixed points — goalposts and any surveyed corner positions — before trusting any faded line.
- String the full length of each touchline and goal line before marking; short sections drift.
- Square corners by measuring both diagonals of the rectangle you are about to commit to: equal diagonals mean square corners.
3. Mark, to the Law’s measurements
- All lines the same width, and no wider than 12 cm — Law 1’s rule for every marking on the field.
- The key distances from Law 1: penalty area lines 16.5 m from the inside of each goalpost, extending 16.5 m into the field; goal area lines at 5.5 m; penalty mark 11 m from the midpoint between the posts; centre circle radius 9.15 m; corner arcs 1 m.
- Walk at a steady pace with the machine, eyes on the string ahead, not the nozzle below.
4. Check before the string comes up
- Sight down each long line from behind the corner flag position.
- Confirm the halfway line meets both touchlines at the measured midpoints.
- Re-check the penalty areas against the posts — they are the most referee-inspected lines on the pitch.
5. Clean and record
- Rinse the machine immediately; dried paint is the main cause of next session’s problems.
- Store string lines dry and untangled.
- Log the session — date, conditions, anything odd — in the maintenance log.
When to stop and escalate
- Reference points lost (posts moved, corners unverifiable): re-measure the pitch properly before marking anything — a wrong pitch marked confidently stays wrong all season.
- Pitch dimensions in doubt: adult pitches must sit inside Law 1’s ranges; the line-length planner refuses out-of-range dimensions for the same reason.
Printable summary
Print this page and laminate it for the marking kit: the five stages and the Law 1 measurements are the whole sheet.