Here at the Kent FA, we are privileged and fortunate to have incredible partners, all of whom are equally passionate about supporting and developing the grassroots game in Kent.

In 2021, Kent FA united in partnership with Technical Surfaces to support 3G facility providers with regular maintenance of their 3G pitches to preserve the safe use, durability, aesthetics, and performance levels ensuring maximum enjoyment for all.

As part of the partnership, Technical Surfaces provides special offers on seasonal maintenance, conducts face-to-face workshops alongside our very own Aidan Ainsley, Facilities and Investment Lead, and produces a brilliant seasonal guide to help facility providers get the most from their pitch. This can be found here.

We caught up with Sinead Merry, Business Development Manager at Technical Surfaces, our 3G Pitch Maintenance Partner, to find out more about them. 

For those who do not know much about Technical Surfaces, can you tell us more about the work you do? 

Technical Surfaces provides a complete culture of preventative and corrective maintenance for 3G pitches and other synthetic sports facilities. We undertake specialist maintenance contracts for more than 900 sports clubs, leisure centers, schools, colleges, and universities nationwide, and our refurbishment portfolio includes deeper cleaning, decompactions, infill top-ups, line markings, and repairs. In 2021 we joined the Sportex Group, which has enabled us to enhance our infrastructure and invest further in machinery and innovative processes. We have worked hard to establish our brand and reputation as the UK’s largest and leading provider of synthetic sports surface maintenance.

Technical Surfaces has a long-standing relationship supporting clubs across all sports. Can you tell us more about that?

As well as our FA Partnership scheme, we provide contracted maintenance to training facilities and Youth Academies at several Premier League clubs, as well as specialist cleaning to stadium surrounds and dugouts. Our Indicative Pitch Performance Testing service has also proved invaluable to elite clubs, whose primary focus is ensuring player welfare across all facilities.

You are the Kent FA’s 3G Pitch Maintenance Partner – why did you decide to join the Kent FA Partner family?

At Technical Surfaces we are incredibly proud of our working partnership with Kent FA, and in particular, our ability to support several clubs locally. We first joined the Kent FA Partner family back in 2021, and our agreement to deliver quality maintenance to 3G pitches across the region has since been extended to 2025. From recreational football to competitive matches, we understand how important it is for players to have confidence in their 3G pitch, both as a quality playing surface and in terms of health and safety. A shared passion for promoting and supporting grassroots football makes Kent FA a perfect fit for Technical Surfaces and our commitment to Maintaining Standards.

We understand that you are working with several Kent clubs to support their 3G pitches to be the best they can be. How has the relationship with Kent FA helped?

To have our maintenance programme endorsed by Kent FA gives clubs that extra level of confidence that their 3G pitches will be in safe hands. These facilities represent a large investment and are an invaluable community resource, and as such deserve the best possible care and attention. A well-maintained pitch can increase player satisfaction and promote increased participation. Our relationship with Kent FA has also helped to increase awareness of Technical Surfaces and our services, expanding our customer base, and strengthening our presence in the region.

Technical Surfaces recently hosted a workshop at Aylesford FC. Can you tell us more about your day and what you enjoyed most? 

The workshop was a real success, and we are so pleased to have met with a wide range of people with vested interests in 3G pitch maintenance. We hosted on-the-pitch and were able to demonstrate our specialist equipment and explain the importance of the various maintenance techniques and processes that we undertake. We also discussed how our own specialist maintenance can be best supported by grounds teams performing regular visual checks on their pitch, as well as carrying out essential daily and weekly tasks such as Drag Brushing, infill distribution, litter picking, and leaf collection. The workshop was attended by people whom we have longstanding relationships with, as well as people who were not previously aware of Technical Surfaces, so it was great to be able to catch up with friends and make new acquaintances.

What has been a partnership highlight so far?

A personal highlight for me was attending the Grassroots Awards, which I found so inspiring. For Technical Surfaces as a company, we have found the whole experience of working with the team at Kent FA to be rewarding and supportive, working together to help protect and enhance the quality of Grassroots football facilities.

The 2023/24 season is well underway. What are you looking forward to the most this season?

Well, as a Leicester-based company, we are obviously excited to see Leicester City continue their current run of form and hopefully win back promotion to the Premier League! Technical Surfaces also has several exciting projects in development that will further enhance our maintenance provision, and 2024 looks set to be a particularly busy time for us as we explore new avenues, so watch this space!

The collaboration between Technical Surfaces and The Kent FA signifies a positive step forward to support more facility providers in Kent, combining expertise to address pressing challenges and seize emerging opportunities. If you would like to speak to the team at Technical Surfaces regarding your 3G facility, please contact Sinead Merry at sinead.merry@technicalsurfaces.co.uk and quote Kent FA. 

If you would like to find out more about Kent FA’s partnerships, please contact Claire Whybrew, Head of Marketing and Partnerships at Claire.Whybrew@KentFA.com 

Should you have any questions regarding pitches or facilities or would like to know more about the current grant opportunities that are available, please contact Aidan Ainsley, Pitches and Investment Lead, at Aidan.Ainsley@KentFA.com