Football is drying up in baking Britain as ‘rock onerous’ pitches are a hazard to gamers
An entire football league of 85 teams has been forced to delay the start of its seasons after soccer bosses ruled drought-hit pitches were so ‘rock hard’ they are too dangerous to play on
Droughts will make playing football more and more difficult(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Football is drying up in drought hit Britain. A league has been forced to postpone the start of its season because ‘rock hard’ pitches are a danger to players.
Another club has warned fans it may have to switch home matches until its sun-baked pitch becomes playable again. Hartley Wintney FC has already had to move pre-season friendlies costing it vital cash from home fixtures.
It comes with car washes and swimming pools facing water bans as the record-breaking drought worsens with no rain in sight and a sixth heatwave of the year hitting this week. Half of Britain is under a hosepipe ban as reservoir levels plunge amid a sizzling hot and dry spring and summer.
An aerial view of dried out Maiden Castle Iron Age hillfort in Dorchester(Image: Getty Images)
Nine water companies have brought in restrictions legally banning customers from using hosepipes to water gardens or wash cars, patios or boats.
Southern Water has applied to the Government to bring in a non-essential use ban which would stop companies washing cars and windows with hosepipes or filling swimming or paddling pools at gyms, health clubs and holiday parks.
It would be the first such restriction in 20 years and would force businesses to stop watering outdoor plants, filling ponds and cleaning vehicles, boats, aircraft and trains. Football could grind to standstill at parched grassroots level unless it rains soon.
Baking Britain(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
While top level clubs are exempt from water restrictions on essential match pitches many lesser teams do not have systems in place to keep surfaces playable. Those on water meters cannot afford the vast bill.
Sunday league and park pitches are likely – if not already – so hard players risk serious injury. The start of the 2026/27 season in the Anglian Combination League – which features 85 amateur teams across Norfolk and Suffolk – was due to start next weekend but has been postponed.
The sun-stopped-play move followed an urgent meeting of the league’s management board. It said it had unanimously decided to delay the start of the season until August 29 because most of the clubs’ pitches are dried out and too dangerous to play on. It said a number of pre-season friendlies had been cancelled due to the drought. Matches that have gone ahead resulted in ‘many injuries’.
Scorched Hyde Park in central London(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
League chairman Dale Brown said: “The rationale behind this decision is to protect the welfare of players, officials and all associated with the match day in what has been the driest and hottest July since records began in 1836. Most of our league clubs’ pitches are grass and the ground conditions are extremely dry and pitches rock hard. This was a very difficult decision to reach and one that will not please all clubs.”
Hartley Wintney FC, which plays in the Isthmian League, warned supporters it may not be able to stage home fixtures. A spokesman said repeated heatwaves, drought and sharply reduced water pressure had made it a ‘major challenge to complete pitch works’.
Volunteers have worked long hours to water the pitch but without rain the club may be unable to put on games ‘until such time that the pitch is playable’, it added. It was due to play Egham Town at its Memorial Playing Fields ground on August 18 and was now ‘working on a solution’.
Hartley Wintney – which is due to host Hendon on September 12 – has twice warned the Isthmian League it might not be able to stage matches and has contacted teams ‘with a view to reversing fixtures or rearranging them to a time when the pitch will be safe to play on’. The club said: “We will advise everyone as soon as we have answers and the necessary league approvals for these games.”
The FA does not hold figures on the number of leagues that have been forced to postpone the start of the season because of the drought. It said it was a matter of individual leagues and county football associations.
The Grounds Management Association has issued advice on how to preserve sports pitches. It involves cutting grass less often at cooler times of day, letting it grow longer and only water high priority areas.
Chessington World of Adventures Resort was forced to turn away families in the middle of the school summer holidays as it shut due to a water outage.
Bosses at the theme park in Surrey warned people not to travel following a burst water main which Thames Water has since located and was working to repair.
A Chessington spokesman said: “We are currently experiencing operational disruption due to a burst water main that is affecting the local area. As a result the attraction is closed today while our teams work closely with Thames Water and local partners to restore normal operations as quickly and safely as possible.”
A Thames Water spokesman said: “We’re sorry to customers in the Chessington area who are currently without water and to anyone whose plans to visit Chessington World of Adventures Resort have been affected following today’s outage.”
The Met Office has warned of possible impacts to railway lines and power networks as forecasters consider issuing rare amber or red extreme heat warnings. Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “Thursday at this stage looks the most likely hottest day of the week.
“So 36C is a fairly reasonable probability locally on Thursday and there’s a small chance it could get even higher than that. There is a potential for impacts – so impacts to infrastructure, things like railway lines and power networks, impacts to vulnerable people as well.” More than 2,800 have died in the UK as a result of extreme heat so far this year.
