Negre lays foundation of blue turf

International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre laid the foundation stone of the first ever blue synthetic turf at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday. The Spaniard, who wrapped up his four-day visit to Bangladesh late last night, hoped the new blue turf would herald a new chapter in Bangladesh hockey.

This is the third synthetic turf at the premier hockey venue of the country. The first one at this venue was installed in 1996 and the second one was laid ten years later.

The blue turf, which is the most widely used turf on hockey pitches around the world at present, is being installed with joint financial cooperation from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), FIH and the Bangladesh government.

The removal of the green turf will begin today and it will take around one and a half months to complete the installation process of the new turf. The green turf will then be transferred to the BKSP ground in Dinajpur.