LED FOOTBALL PITCH LIGHTING MUST COMPLY WITH SPECIFIC REGULATIONS LAID DOWN BY THE FRENCH FOOTBALL FEDERATION (FFF). SPEQTRIS SPORT ASSISTS YOU WITH YOUR PROJECT TO ENSURE YOU GET THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHTING, TECHNOLOGY, LIGHT DISTRIBUTION AND QUALITY OF PLAY FOR YOUR FACILITIES.
4-pole side lighting
6-pole side lighting
Corner lighting
Lighting a Football Pitch :
Football venues are often equipped with “old generation” floodlights (1,000W or 2,000W iodide floodlights) positioned on poles of different heights.
Thanks to its expertise, the StopLED team will tailor one or more solutions to your structure, with the promise of achieving a lighting result that meets official standards. When lighting football pitches or large outdoor playing fields, the category of pitch must be clearly defined as it will determine the required illuminance level. For example, a Category E6 football pitch will have an average illuminance level of 150 Lux.
For football pitches and large playing fields, you have several options for your project to upgrade to or install LED lighting:
The Speqtris Sport range of fixtures for football pitch lighting:
To light football stadiums or large outdoor playing fields on poles, we mainly use the following products from the dedicated Speqtris Sport lighting range:
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| Goliath LED Floodlight |
Helios LED Floodlight |
Cronos LED Floodlight |
Illuminance :
Football pitches are classified according to 7 levels: E1 / E2 / E3 / E4 / E5 / E6 / E7
Levels E1 / E2 and E3 are designed for top-level sport in stadiums and matches broadcast on TV (Premier League, League Championship).
Levels E4 / E5 / E6 / E7 are more commonly used for amateur competitions (Regional and County Championships, Training, etc.).
Lighting around the pitch :
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch (“A” point on the measurement diagram).
Lighting around the pitch :
Sports lighting must provide uniform light over the whole pitch to guarantee a quality playing environment.
It must therefore meet specific standards:
Value U1 = Former name for the uniformity factor Emin/Emax. The illuminance uniformity factor U1, for each horizontal (U1h) and vertical (U1v) plane, is calculated as follows:
Valeur U2 = L’ancienne dénomination du facteur d’uniformité Emin/Emoy. Le facteur d’uniformité U2 de l’éclairement, pour chaque plan horizontal (U2h) et vertical (U2v), se calcule comme suit :
Lighting point measurement diagram :
For E1, E2 and E3 classified football pitches, the reference photometric measurements are based on the UEFA grid, comprising 77 measurement points.
Here we show a 25-point photometric measurement for football pitches classified as E4/E5/E6/E7. The measurements are taken on the ground according to the grid shown below.
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WITH OVER 10 YEARS’ EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD, WE HAVE DESIGNED A RANGE OF LIGHTING LAYOUTS TO SUIT EACH SPORT.
THIS TOOL PROVIDES QUICK ACCESS TO THE PHOTOMETRIC STUDIES CORRESPONDING TO YOUR PROJECT TO HELP YOU DEFINE AND PROPOSE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT FOR THE LIGHTING RESULT YOU WANT.
Dimensions of a football pitch :
The dimensions of a football pitch vary with each situation and locality. Not all pitches are the same size.
Pitches are generally between 90 and 120m long and between 45 and 90m wide, if the pitch is specifically for football or for outdoor sports (large area of play).
The two most frequent dimensions are:
Lighting layout and pole positions :
Football pitch floodlights, and therefore the lighting poles, should be installed so that the vertical distance between the axis of the closest floodlights and the sideline is at least:
Floodlight tilt :
The maximum angle of the floodlights’ tilt (optical axis) in relation to the vertical must be less than or equal to 70° for all pitches.
To avoid discomfort glare, and also to avoid lighting outside the pitch which could disturb neighbours or biodiversity, floodlights must be positioned on poles at an angle of no more than 70°.
If this is not possible, the photometric study must ensure compliance with the maximum glare rating (GR 50).
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Glare Rating (GR) – Football Pitch :
To avoid all discomfort glare, all our studies integrate the Glare Rating to study and analyse the possible degree of discomfort caused by lighting.
To limit this discomfort glare, the glare rating (GR) must be less than or equal to 50 for pitches classified E1 to E5.
For levels E1 to E5, the GR is calculated using a grid of 32 reference points specified by the French Football Federation. Measurements are taken at a height of 1.50m above the ground.
Technical specifications are a document necessary for any public procurement contract. They define the buyer’s requirements. For football pitch lighting, illuminance standards must be met to ensure that each lighted pitch is compliant.
If you are planning to light a football pitch, choose the relevant category below and use our “Copy text” feature to incorporate the standard into your Specifications
According to the lighting standard defined by the French Football Federation:
Category E1:
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch.
According to the lighting standard defined by the French Football Federation:
Category E2:
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch.
According to the lighting standard defined by the French Football Federation:
Category E3:
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch.
According to the lighting standard defined by the French Football Federation:
Category E4:
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch.
According to the lighting standard defined by the French Football Federation:
Category E5:
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch.
According to the lighting standard defined by the French Football Federation:
Category E6:
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch.
According to the lighting standard defined by the French Football Federation:
Category E7:
To enable players and referees to use the whole area of play, the illuminance level at 1.5m from the sidelines and goal lines must not be less than 75% of the illuminance level measured at the reference points on the pitch.
By adding a management system to your football pitch LED lighting with our VariBOX units, you can adjust the lighting with different illuminance levels depending on use (Training / Competition).
Discover VariFOOT, the unit specifically designed for football pitches with 2 or 3 illuminance levels depending on the category, half-field lighting (staggered lighting) or a timer to prevent activation over fixed periods.
Recommended illuminance levels :
Recommended add-ons :
VariFoot – our recommended installations :
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