García Unanue, Jorge FernandoFelipe Hernández, José LuisMills, KatieBenetti, MickaelMedina Sánchez, ÁlvaroBillingham, JohsanGallardo, LeonorAlonso Callejo, Antonio2026-06-082026-06-082026Garcia-Unanue, J., Felipe, J. L., Mills, K., Benetti, M., Medina-Sanchez, A., Billingham, J., Gallardo, L., & Alonso-Callejo, A. (2026). A field-based analysis of artificial football pitches with different vegetal infills. Sports Engineering, 29(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-026-00542-x1369-70721460-2687https://hdl.handle.net/11268/17149This study compared the effects of artificial football surfaces incorporating different vegetal infills on players’ physical performance. It also examined how these systems differed from natural grass and from traditional third-generation artificial turf using recycled rubber from end-of-life tyres. No single vegetal infill outperformed the others across all variables, highlighting the need for individual evaluation. These findings indicate that some vegetal infills may provide performance characteristics comparable to existing systems, although their suitability for wider implementation will depend on further long-term, environmental, and context-specific evaluations.engAttribution 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/journal article10.1007/s12283-026-00542-xopen accessIngenieríaDeporteTecnología de materialesGoal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovationGoal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns