Sizing and costing
How Much Land Does A Pitch Need
One generic list, so anyone with a plot can work out what fits on it before spending a shilling. The playing dimensions are the published federation standards of England, France, Portugal and Brazil — four countries that build grassroots football properly. The land arithmetic and the money are ours.
Your plot
What Fits On The Land You Have
Futsal court
6pitches
1,246 m² each (0.308 acres). Build cost $192,000 at the mid band.
5-a-side pitch
9pitches
963 m² each (0.238 acres). Build cost $216,000 at the mid band.
7-a-side pitch
4pitches
1,954 m² each (0.483 acres). Build cost $158,000 at the mid band.
9-a-side pitch
1pitch
4,847 m² each (1.198 acres). Build cost $50,500 at the mid band.
11-a-side pitch, youth
1pitch
6,982 m² each (1.725 acres). Build cost $75,000 at the mid band.
11-a-side pitch, adult
0pitches
9,693 m² each (2.395 acres). Not enough land for one.
The generic list
Every Format, Sized And Costed
| Format | Playing size | Run-off | Fenced footprint | Land needed | Per hectare | Build cost band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Futsal court5 v 5, hard court | 40 x 20 mrange 34 x 16 m to 42 x 25 m | 2 m | 44 x 24 m1,056 m² | 1,246 m²0.308 acres | 8 | $23,000 – $45,500mid $32,000 · KSh 4,141,939Fenced, floodlit synthetic court, built new |
| 5-a-side pitch5 v 5, synthetic grass | 30 x 20 mrange 25 x 16 m to 40 x 30 m | 2 m | 34 x 24 m816 m² | 963 m²0.238 acres | 10.4 | $17,500 – $34,000mid $24,000 · KSh 3,106,454Fenced, floodlit synthetic court, built new |
| 7-a-side pitch7 v 7 or society football | 40 x 30 mrange 40 x 30 m to 60 x 40 m | 3 m | 46 x 36 m1,656 m² | 1,954 m²0.483 acres | 5.1 | $29,000 – $56,500mid $39,500 · KSh 5,112,706Fenced, floodlit small-sided synthetic pitch |
| 9-a-side pitch9 v 9, ages 11 to 12 | 73 x 46 mrange 64 x 40 m to 80 x 50 m | 3 m | 79 x 52 m4,108 m² | 4,847 m²1.198 acres | 2.1 | $37,000 – $77,000mid $50,500 · KSh 6,536,498Levelling, drainage, goals, fencing and floodlights on an existing field |
| 11-a-side pitch, youth11 v 11, ages 13 to 16 | 91 x 55 mrange 82 x 50 m to 100 x 64 m | 3 m | 97 x 61 m5,917 m² | 6,982 m²1.725 acres | 1.4 | $55,000 – $115,000mid $75,000 · KSh 9,707,670Levelling, drainage, goals, fencing and floodlights on an existing field |
| 11-a-side pitch, adult11 v 11, adult and league | 105 x 68 mrange 100 x 64 m to 105 x 68 m | 3 m | 111 x 74 m8,214 m² | 9,693 m²2.395 acres | 1 | $78,500 – $164,000mid $107,000 · KSh 13,849,609Levelling, drainage, goals, fencing and floodlights on an existing field |
Where the dimensions come from
Four Countries That Build It Properly
England
The Football Association and the Football Foundation
Publishes one national pitch dimensions guide and funds nothing that does not meet it. Every format has a stated size and a 3 m run-off, and lines are colour-coded so four formats share one 3G pitch.
Their guidanceFrance
Fédération Française de Football
Classifies every installation (T1 to T6) and ties public funding to that classification, so a pitch is built for a known level of competition rather than in hope. Foot5 has its own written specification, down to fibre length.
Their guidancePortugal
Federação Portuguesa de Futebol
Requires synthetic pitches to meet FIFA Quality or the international artificial turf standard, and fixes the distance between the pitch and the crowd. Small country, dense pitch coverage.
Their guidanceBrazil
CBF, CBFS and the society football operators
Built its player base on hard courts and small society pitches, not full fields: cheap, dense, close to where people live, and commercially run so they pay for themselves.
Their guidanceFutsal court
The cheapest real football you can build. It also doubles as a netball, basketball and handball court, which is how a school or a church hall justifies the spend.
Surface: Sealed concrete, resin or timber. Not synthetic grass — futsal is a hard-court game.
- Brazil:
- CBFS: 25-42 m long, 16-25 m wide. National adult matches 38 x 18 m minimum.
- Portugal:
- FPF: 25-42 m by 16-25 m, 4 m clear height, 2 m neutral zone around the surface.
- France:
- FFF: 40 x 20 m recommended, down to 34 x 16 m where land is tight, 1 m run-off minimum.
- England:
- FA: marked within a sports hall or as a small-sided pitch, 3 m run-off on 3G.
5-a-side pitch
The format that produces touches. Brazil, France and England all build their commercial small-sided game at roughly this size, and it is the unit we cost the county rollout in.
Surface: Synthetic grass. France requires 55 mm fibres with no shockpad, or 30-40 mm over a shockpad.
- England:
- FA small-sided: 25-50 m by 16-35 m. FA 5v5 youth guidance 37 x 27 m with 3 m run-off.
- France:
- FFF Foot5: 30 x 20 m standard, synthetic grass compulsory, perimeter netting required.
- Brazil:
- Commercial society builds cluster at 25 x 15 m, 30 x 18 m and 40 x 20 m.
- Portugal:
- Built as a synthetic multi-use court meeting FIFA Quality or the artificial turf standard.
7-a-side pitch
The workhorse of a county programme: youth league football, women's football, schools finals and paid adult evening hire on the same surface.
Surface: Synthetic grass, or natural grass where there is water to keep it alive.
- England:
- FA 7v7 youth: 55 x 37 m with 3 m run-off. Commercial 7-a-side 50-60 m by 30-40 m.
- Brazil:
- Society (futebol 7) per FIFO7S: 45 x 25 m minimum to 55 x 35 m maximum.
- France:
- Football à 8 is played on a half pitch, 60-70 m by 45-55 m.
- Portugal:
- Futebol 7 played on synthetic half pitches meeting the FPF turf requirement.
9-a-side pitch
The step between small-sided and the full game. Skipping it is why players arrive at 11-a-side unable to read space.
Surface: Synthetic grass or a properly drained natural pitch.
- England:
- FA 9v9: 73 x 46 m with 3 m run-off, marked in blue on a shared 3G pitch.
- France:
- Played on a reduced or half pitch under the FFF youth formats.
- Portugal:
- Reduced-format youth football on club synthetic pitches.
- Brazil:
- Youth football moves from futsal and society straight to the full field.
11-a-side pitch, youth
One properly marked, fenced, floodlit youth pitch is enough to run an entire county age-group league.
Surface: Natural grass with drainage, or a full-size synthetic pitch.
- England:
- FA: 82 x 50 m at U13/U14, 91 x 55 m at U15/U16, 3 m run-off.
- France:
- FFF classified installation, T6 minimum for federated youth competition.
- Portugal:
- Club pitches built to the senior standard and shared with youth teams.
- Brazil:
- Full field, campo de futebol, shared across all age groups.
11-a-side pitch, adult
The licensing standard. A club cannot be licensed, host a league fixture or sell a matchday without one.
Surface: Natural grass with drainage and irrigation, or FIFA Quality synthetic turf.
- Portugal:
- FPF: 100-105 m by 64-68 m, 2 m from the touchline and 3 m from the goal line to the crowd.
- England:
- FA adult 11v11: 100 x 64 m recommended, 3 m run-off, 6 m between adjacent pitches.
- France:
- FFF classified pitch, with the classification level setting the competition it can host.
- Brazil:
- Campo oficial at the FIFA range, used for state and national competition.
What you are actually buying
The Ten Lines Of A Pitch Build
Method and limits
How These Numbers Are Worked Out
- Playing dimensions are the published federation standards of England, France, Portugal and Brazil. Where they differ we show the range and take a buildable middle.
- Land for one pitch is the playing area plus a run-off on all four sides, plus 18% for the fencing line, gates, paths and access. Two pitches side by side need a shared run-off of double the single figure — England requires 6 m between adjacent pitches.
- Cost bands are per square metre of built surface, worked back from our own unit costs: a 30 x 20 m court at $17,500 to $34,000, and an 11-a-side upgrade at $68,000 to $145,000. They are estimates published to be argued with, not quotations.
- Costs exclude land, changing rooms, water and power connection, and any structure. A county cost of living index is applied when you pick a county.
- Conversion at KSh 129 to the dollar. 1 acre = 4,047 m². 1 hectare = 10,000 m².
The attached Birmingham site is 8,707 m² (0.87 ha) and carries two 30 x 20 m five-a-side pitches, one 40 x 30 m seven-a-side, five padel courts, a pavilion and 149 parking spaces. The same plot in Kenya, with no parking to find, would take nine 5-a-side courts, or four 7-a-side pitches, or one youth 11-a-side pitch with a 5-a-side court alongside it. An adult 11-a-side pitch needs 9,693 m² and would not fit.