Lommel (Brussels Morning) – Wim Fluyt a sports field manager,worked on the Red Devils’ training grounds in Germany using quartz sand from Lommel and ensuring the fields meet UEFA standards.
The Red Devils the Belgian national team are off to Ludwigsburg for the European Championship. They’ll be practicing at SGV Freiberg a local club in Freiberg am Neckar. Wim Fluyt, Kevin Tips and Yannick Grevendonck look after the fields there. They did such a great job at Lommel SK that their stadium was ranked the fourth best in Belgium. Fluyt is proud of this especially because the stadium had some old construction issues. He’s got lots of experience and even worked with Oli Makin from OH Leuven.
How Did Wim Fluyt Ensure High-Quality Training Grounds for the Red Devils During the European Championship?
Wim Fluyt mentioned using quartz sand from Lommel because he didn’t have much knowledge of the German supplier market. They had to make a single six-hour trip to transport 160,000 liters of sand to the site. This quartz sand from Lommel was chosen for the project due to its quality and because it was more convenient to source compared to options from Germany. The journey to get the sand shows the dedication and effort put into ensuring the training grounds are maintained to a high standard for the Red Devils during the European Championship.
Wim Fluyt has been in this job for 22 years. He got into it because of his dad who used to work on football fields. They don’t use any special stuff like fertilizer or seeds. When many clubs were switching to fake grass Wim decided to stick with real grass. After learning about plants he and his dad got a machine to plant more
He suggested what could be done quickly. The first practice field was made planted in mid-Apri, and finished just like at Lommel SK or OH Leuven. The second field for the Red Devils didn’t get much attention. It was only planted two weeks ago because Freiberg was using it. This area will be for the media. It’s not perfect but it’ll do. They did their best with few changes. Because of bad weather they had to quickly sort everything out. The field in Germany isn’t as good as in Lommel but Wim is happy with it. When they cut the grass they stick to the UEFA rules so don’t expect anything fancy.
The Personal and Professional Dedication of Wim Fluyt to Maintaining Top-Notch Football Pitches
Wim Fluyt mentioned thst The quality is great but I don’t know much about where to buy sand in Germany. The first field had 60 big truckloads of sand enough to fill about three trucks. For England they brought in five trucks with 100 truckloads of sand from Lommel making a long trip of about six hours to move 160,000 liters of sand to the site.
Wim Fluyt Said
“When I watch football, I often turn a blind eye to the condition of the pitch. I don’t know anything about tactics. If a player says that the turf is not in good condition, it affects me”
Wim Fluyt also said that having good football players on my field makes me happy. Both players and the field are like keys to success. We work hard to keep the field top-notch. If a player says things aren’t going well and we agree it really matters to me.
