Amateur football clubs face having to cancel fixtures in the opening weeks of the season because the drought has made pitches unplayable.
The Delfland water authority has imposed a sprinkler ban across an area covering Delft and the Westland region, while the council has told them not to play on grass until the ban is lifted.
“We have 11 football pitches, but we can only use the three that have artificial surfaces,” Dick Hartman, secretary of FC ’s-Gravenzande told NOS.
“There is a chance that matches can’t go ahead,” he said. “We are doing a rain dance every day in the hope that it rains.”
The Dutch football association KNVB sent clubs a letter on Monday ahead of the start of the second and third division seasons, which kick off this weekend.
It urged clubs to “move matches to available artificial pitches if possible” and spread matches across the weekend to conserve grass surfaces. Otherwise clubs will have to apply to postpone matches using “the regular procedure”.
Jean Demollin, chair of southern Limburg club SNC ’14, said it was a struggle to keep the pitches in shape for training. “When the league matches start it will get worse,” he said. “We’ll have to move games or start with away fixtures. We haven’t got to that point yet, but I fear the worst.”
