Maidstone United and the Conference: Time to Change Tack on 3G Pitches

With a little less than half of the season remaining, just seven points separate the top six clubs in the Ryman League Premier Division. One of them, Maidstone United, presents a unique problem for the Football Conference. Should the club win the title or the play-offs, its promotion could be denied not on the pitch, but in a committee meeting.

The issue is the 3G artificial pitch at The Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone’s home since 2012. Current regulations prohibit such surfaces above Level Six of the English National League System, precisely the level Maidstone are trying to leave. As the rules stand, a successful season would end in administrative relegation before it even began.

This conflict highlights a deep contradiction within the game’s governance. In its own guidance, The Football Association states it is “fully supportive of the use of the Football Turf (3G) artificial pitches in the national game”. Yet FA competition rules prevent their use in the Conference, the Football League, and the latter stages of the FA Cup. This fudge of an arrangement is now threatening to create a serious headache for a high-flying club.

A Different Beast

The very mention of artificial pitches can evoke memories of the 1980s, when clubs like Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town installed surfaces notorious for an unnatural bounce and the risk of burns. Those pitches were unpopular with players and fans alike and were eventually banned by the Football League in 1995. But technology has advanced significantly since the days of Omniturf.

Modern 3G surfaces are a different beast entirely. Alan Turvey, the chairman of the Ryman League, wrote an open letter last autumn to his counterpart at the Football Conference, Brian Lee, asking for “serious consideration to this type of proven surface”. Turvey noted that after witnessing matches at Maidstone and Harlow Town, he had received “no complaints received from either players or match officials”. FIFA, too, has developed its own quality licensing programme to ensure artificial pitches mimic the playing characteristics of natural grass, a standard that did not exist thirty years ago.

The Financial Argument

Any suggestion that Maidstone’s current league position is purely down to an unfair advantage from their pitch seems a weak argument. The club’s average home attendance of more than 1,800 is almost three times the next highest in the division, giving them financial muscle that other clubs lack. Indeed, their home record of seven wins from fifteen matches is strong but hardly suggests an invincible fortress.

The true advantage of the 3G pitch is financial and communal. During the 2012-13 season, Maidstone United generated £110,000 in direct income from renting out the pitch, with an estimated £50,000 to £100,000 more in indirect revenue. This is a monumental sum for a club at this level, where solvency is a constant battle.

The surface is not just a revenue generator; it is a community hub. The club states that around 1,000 players use the pitch at the Gallagher Stadium every week. Fewer postponements due to weather save money for home and away clubs, while the ability to hire out the facility seven days a week embeds the club within its local community. This is precisely the sort of model governing bodies should be encouraging.

A Self-Serving Veto

So why the reluctance? It is possible some decision-makers are still haunted by the plastic pitches of the past. A more cynical view, however, points towards simple self-preservation. The Football Conference is a league of member clubs, and some may be voting to protect themselves from a well-resourced competitor like Maidstone. The fact that the Football League does not permit artificial surfaces provides a convenient excuse. As a point of interest, four clubs did use them in the Football League in the 1980s: QPR, Luton, Oldham Athletic and Preston North End.

The pressure for change is building from within. Sutton United, a Conference South club, has already tabled a proposal to relax the rules. Their manager, Paul Doswell, called the current stance a “ridiculous notion” and “a case of self-serving by the Skrill Football Conference”. He suggested the league fears a scenario where one of its promoted clubs is denied entry to the Football League because of its pitch.

This is not an argument for replacing grass, but for accepting a technology whose benefits for smaller clubs now seem to outweigh the perceived drawbacks. The Football Conference meets at the end of this month to discuss the matter. For Maidstone United, the outcome of that meeting could be more important than any result on the pitch.