Sports stadium lights are powerful lighting fixtures installed at high heights, with a narrow beam angle typically ranging from 12 to 60 degrees. Due to the narrow beam angle, the intensity of light within this angle is higher, allowing bright light to reach the ground from greater heights.

The illumination of football fields plays a crucial role in night matches. For spectators, their experience largely depends on the setup of the lighting system. For players, the lighting must provide sufficient coverage for them to fully showcase their skills.

Football field lighting is a highly functional, technologically advanced, and relatively challenging design task. It must not only meet the standards of various levels of football matches but also focus heavily on the actual effects of live television broadcasts. To ensure vivid and clear images and true-to-life colors, there are specific regulations regarding vertical illuminance, light intensity uniformity, spatial dimensions, color temperature, color rendering index (CRI), and different levels of football fields have different lighting standards.

Football field lighting must meet the needs of visual and audiovisual media, spectators, professional football players, and officials. Its lighting requirements depend on whether the venue is used for matches or training, whether the matches are domestic or international, and whether there is television broadcasting, among other factors.

Based on these considerations, there are many different levels and parameters. Let's take a look at the main types of football field lighting and the characteristics they need to have:

FIFA: Television broadcast events (Em ≥ 1,500–2,000 lx / Uniformity ≥ 0.7). CRI80, Color temperature 5000-6200K

Grade 1: World Cup training or small-scale matches (Em≥750lx/Uniformity≥0.6). CRI80, CCT 5000-6200K, non-televised matches.

Grade 2: Matching practice (Em ≥ 500 lx / Uniformity ≥ 0.6). CRI70, Color temperature 5000-6200K

Grade 3: Standard training usage (Em ≥ 300 lx / Uniformity ≥ 0.6). CRI70, Color temperature 4200-6200K

The table below outlines the requirements for Eh levels, uniformity, flicker factor, reference grid, color temperature, color rendering index, glare rating, maintenance factor, and other specifications. Additionally, football fields used for world matches also have requirements for vertical illumination. If you need further information in this regard, you can contact Kinlights or visit FIFA.

Dimensions of Football Fields

Football fields are rectangular, with a length not greater than 120 meters or less than 90 meters, and a width not greater than 90 meters or less than 45 meters. In any case, the length must exceed the width. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) requires recognized fields to have dimensions of 105*68 meters

If your football field does not meet standard dimensions, please let us know.

Lighting Arrangement

The lighting arrangement of football fields is typically based on the regulations and standards set by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). Generally, lighting fixtures are installed at the four corners of the field or on elevated structures surrounding the field to ensure adequate illumination across the entire area. This layout ensures that all areas of the football field have appropriate lighting intensity and uniformity to meet the needs of matches and training sessions.

When setting up lighting, special consideration needs to be given to key areas on the football field such as the goalposts, sidelines, and halfway line to ensure that these areas meet the standard lighting requirements. However, not all areas require excessive lighting. For instance, seating areas, off-field zones, substitutes' benches, technical areas, and the periphery of the field. When installing lighting fixtures, if there are spectator stands around the field, whether they are permanent seating areas or temporary open-air stands, it must be ensured that the lighting equipment and structures do not obstruct the spectators' view.

The placement of light poles

In most cases, these poles are required for Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3 football fields. Below are the recommended number of poles, number of luminaires, pole heights, and total lumen output for different grades of lights. However, this final input can be slightly adjusted based on the lighting Dialux, as the illumination distribution and lumen output of individual sports lights can sometimes differ. Nevertheless, we can initiate the lighting Dialux based on these recommendations and make minor adjustments if necessary.

By adding more light poles, better lighting uniformity is typically achieved. However, this also means incurring additional costs for installing extra poles or high masts. Therefore, if the budget is limited, reducing the number of light poles can be considered, but these poles should be installed at slightly higher positions to ensure good lighting uniformity.

Uniformity

Illuminance uniformity is often defined as the ratio of the minimum illuminance to the average illuminance on a specified surface. A higher value indicates a more uniform distribution of light and a more comfortable visual experience. The uniformity values calculated during the design process are often higher than the measured values after actual installation. Therefore, FIFA recommends calculating sufficiently higher illuminance uniformity values during the design phase to compensate for potential discrepancies after actual installation.

The corresponding indicator to illuminance uniformity gradient is the Minimum Adjacent Uniformity Ratio (MAUR) proposed by FIFA, with a specified limit of MAUR≥0.60. When MAUR=0.6, the uniformity gradient of a 2m measurement grid is 13%.

Glare

Glare refers to the discomfort caused by brightness levels in the field of vision exceeding what the eyes are accustomed to. Poor illumination glare in football stadiums can affect the comfort of athletes' vision and diminish the quality of televised broadcasts. Glare occurs due to uneven light distribution or excessive contrast, leading to visual discomfort and reduced object visibility. When the eyes are unable to adapt to intense light in the environment, individuals may experience.

Discomfort or even vision blur. Glare on football fields is typically caused by excessively bright luminaires, emphasizing the importance of paying attention to luminaire placement and light projection direction.

Determining the glare effect of a light source or group of light sources is a complex process influenced by various factors, including the number of luminaires, wattage, and positioning. Glare assessment is typically based on extensive field testing, and the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) has devised a practical glare assessment system for outdoor sports venues based on these tests. The CIE 112-1994 Glare Evaluation System for Use within Outdoor and Area Lighting defines a glare rating (RG) on a scale from 10 to 90. A lower glare rating indicates a better glare situation. This system's effectiveness is limited to viewing directions below eye level and is primarily used for predicting glare levels. During the lighting design phase, a glare assessment based on CIE 112-1994 should be conducted. For instance, FIFA A standard requires glare rating tests at 96 points, evaluated every 15°, resulting in 24 directions for each observation point (360°). The observer's position is typically 1.75 meters above the ground. The final result is the maximum glare value for each observation point in a specific direction.

Dimming

Football field lighting should be dimmed to meet various applications such as matches, training, or maintenance purposes. Below are some examples:

Mode 1: Full Match Mode

The football field lighting system operates to meet the relevant FIFA lighting standards.

Mode 2: Training Mode

The football field lighting system is set to an average horizontal illuminance of 500 lux.

Mode 3: Maintenance Mode

The football field lighting system is set to an average horizontal illuminance of 250 lux to meet maintenance requirements.

Flicker

Flicker is the rapid and visible change in light brightness over time, caused by fluctuations in the light source itself or external factors such as rapid voltage supply fluctuations (power supply flicker) or incompatibility with external dimmers. The key to flicker is the fluctuation of the LED driver's output current.

If the output ripple and noise of the LED power supply are small, the flicker will be reduced. Any fluctuation in the current wave may cause flicker, especially at low output dimming levels (E average). For reference, FF% = 0.5 x (Emax – Emin) / E average x 100%.

Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)

Color temperature is a characteristic of visible light expressed in absolute temperature units called Kelvin (K). It describes the warmth (red) or coolness (blue) of light appearance. The following image provides guidance on the required color temperature range for FIFA stadiums.

Color Rendering Index (CRI)

CRI represents the quality of light and its ability to faithfully reproduce object colors. Color rendering is expressed as a Ra score on a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the CRI value, the better the light source's ability to accurately reproduce the colors of illuminated objects.

FIFA regulations stipulate that lighting systems must have good color rendering. For FIFA standards A and B, the CRI value must exceed Ra80, while for FIFA standards C and D, the CRI value must exceed Ra70.

Free Lighting Design: Our lighting designers can assist you in planning your football field, tailoring detailed lighting plans for competitions, training, or leisure activities based on the specific requirements of your venue. We consider luminaire layout, selection, and installation direction to ensure optimal lighting effects.

High Efficiency: Our sports field lights feature high-quality led chips and efficient led drivers, achieving a luminous efficacy of up to 160lm/W. This means that we can provide brighter lighting while consuming the same amount of energy, thereby reducing energy consumption and minimizing environmental impact.

LED Drivers: Kinlights' sports field lights use efficient led power supplies with a long service life to meet the demands of sports venues. With low Ripple & Noise, they do not produce any visible flickering effects, ensuring clear visibility for high-definition broadcasts.

Optical Design: Kinlights led sports field lights offer a wide range of optical distributions suitable for most sports field lighting requirements. For example, our FL series floodlights come with 10 spectral options, including symmetrical and asymmetrical light distributions. We believe there's a lens suitable for your project needs, and if you have specific lighting requirements, we can also provide customization.

IP and IK Ratings: Kinlights' led floodlights boast high IP and IK ratings. IP66 rating makes our luminaires suitable for most outdoor lighting installations, while IK08 or K10 ratings ensure safe use in sports facilities.

Heat Dissipation: Heat dissipation is a crucial consideration when choosing led floodlights. Both led chips and led drivers require appropriate temperatures to function properly. Poor heat dissipation design can affect the lifespan of led luminaires and may even cause them to malfunction.

Kinlights rigorously controls heat dissipation when designing led luminaires. The FL series sports field lights, in particular, feature excellent heat dissipation design, ensuring that the thermal management (ISTMT temperature) meets requirements, making them the ideal choice for football field and sports venue lighting.

Warranty

We offer a 7 year warranty period for all Kinlights led football field lights. By choosing Kinlights football field lights, you'll receive continuous technical support and premium after-sales service

This article outlines the standards for football field lighting and provides guidance on luminaire placement and pole positioning. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of factors such as uniformity, glare, dimming, flicker, color temperature (CCT), and color rendering (CRI). We hope this information serves as a guide for your stadium lighting project. If you're interested in floodlights, you can also refer to Kinlights' floodlight articles. For Kinlights' lighting design services, please email us at service@kinlights.com