"Since the introduction of the AI tool, we’ve seen a significant improvement in grass coverage calculations – reducing the time for reports to be produced and unlocking funding for more clubs across England"

Joe Clarkemore, Product Manager at the Football Foundation

The challenge

Streamlining grass pitch inspections for greater accuracy and efficiency

  • The Football Foundation needed a more efficient and accurate way to conduct grass pitch inspections across the National League System and Women’s Football Pyramid.
  • Existing manual processes required groundskeepers to visually estimate and report the coverage of grass, weeds and earth on the pitch.
  • 50% of reports received by Regional Pitch Advisors were inaccurate which was wasting time and causing delays in approvals and funding.
  • The goal was to create a tool that could provide precise, fast results, reducing time-to-report and ensuring higher accuracy in pitch assessments.

"Generally the grass coverage calculations were being completed inaccurately by users due to the complex nature of the process, with the AI tool in place we are now seeing an accuracy of 85% which is a transformational improvement"

Tom Rowley, The Grounds Management Association 

Gareth southgate analysing grass pitch Grass pitch Football pitch Guy mowing football pitch

What we did

Developed a cutting-edge AI tool to automate pitch assessments

  • Our specialist team designed and built a completely bespoke artificial intelligence tool for the PitchPower app, purpose-built to streamline pitch inspections at both grassroots and professional levels.
  • Using the latest AI image analysis technology we automated the calculation of grass, weed, and earth coverage from user-submitted photos.
  • By integrating image validation features we ensured users uploaded images of the correct type and quality, specifically designed for pitch inspections.
  • The detection system we implemented not only analyses coverage with 85% accuracy but also reduces the need for user estimation by performing this task automatically.
  • Collaborating closely with the Grounds Management Association we refined the tool for optimal accuracy and relevance to the pitch inspection process.

The results

Achieving 85% accuracy and faster report turnaround

  • The PitchPower AI tool has successfully transformed pitch inspections with a remarkable improvement in accuracy—from a 50% manual accuracy rate to an impressive 85%.
  • Regional Pitch Advisors now receive precise data from the outset, minimising the need for follow-up and resubmission.
  • This has speeded up the approval process significantly, ensuring football clubs across the country get the funding they need to keep their grass pitches match-fit.