How many football pitches is that?
Journalists reach for football pitches for the same reason they reach for double-decker buses: everyone has stood on one.
140 × a football pitch
100 ha ÷ 0.714 ha = 140.1 pitches.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| tennis court | 0.0261 ha | 3,833× | |
| basketball court | 0.0437 ha | 2,290× | |
| acre | 0.405 ha | 247× | |
| football pitch | 0.714 ha | 140× | A 105 × 68 m FIFA-preferred pitch |
| hectare | 1 ha | 100× |
Worth knowing
- A hectare is 1.4 football pitches, so the two units are close enough that press releases quietly swap between them.
- Central Park is 341 hectares — about 478 football pitches.
Frequently asked
How many acres is a football pitch?
A FIFA-preferred pitch of 105 × 68 m is 7 140 m², which is 1.76 acres or 0.714 hectares.
Why do reports use football pitches for area?
Because a hectare is abstract and a pitch is not. It is the same reason deforestation is reported in pitches per minute rather than in square kilometres per year.