Football: Recycled tyres ‘Go The Distance’ with Apollo
Each 160 x 90-foot football pitch utilises around 1,500 car tyres (Photo: Apollo Tyres)
Apollo Tyres brings the worlds of football and tyres together through sponsorship of Manchester United FC as well various grassroots activities, and it is now doing so in a more tangible way with the rollout of football pitches containing 100 per cent repurposed rubber from its own tyres. Following the opening of its first ‘Go The Distance’ pitch near Old Trafford’s north stand, the tyre maker has introduced the concept into its home market. It says the new pitches in India showcase the company’s “commitment to sustainability” and will additionally “encourage the next generation of talent to come to the fore.”
Working towards a sustainable model for providing access to sports and fitness, Apollo Tyres turned its attention to the approximately one billion end-of-life tyres generated around the world each year. Each 160 x 90-foot football pitch utilises around 1,500 car tyres. These are shredded into usable crumb rubber to layer the pitches, with around 7,500 kilogrammes of crumb rubber going into each football pitch.
Speaking at the inauguration of new pitches in Chennai and Pune, Satish Sharma, Apollo Tyres’ president, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA), said, “Apollo Tyres as a company is committed to sustainability. These pitches created using repurposed rubber from our own tyres, are one of the many initiatives that we are taking towards our Sustainability Journey. These Go The Distance pitches have a two-fold objective – towards a sustainable future and ‘access to sports’ for the youth from the local communities, where they can test out and hone their sporting skills.”
20 pitches & more on the way
Apollo Tyres has partnered with HotFut Sports Infrastructure to create and manage the pitches in India. Pitches are currently operational at 11 sites, including Manchester as well as Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai in India. Four more venues will in India will be ready in the coming months.
The creation of these pitches has facilitated several integrations, such as the Apollo Tyres United We Play programme with Manchester United Soccer Schools, Youth Leagues with HotFut, and several other grassroots development initiatives.
Comments