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How many football fields is a hectare?

A hectare is about 1.4 football fields. A standard pitch measures roughly 105 × 68 metres (around 7,140 m²), which is about 0.7 hectares. In other words: a hectare is bigger than a football pitch, not the other way round.

1 hectare — 100 × 100 m (10,000 m²) Football pitch — 105 × 68 m (≈ 7,140 m²) Both drawn at the same scale. The pitch is a little longer but much narrower: it covers only about 0.7 of the hectare.

That is why the phrase "an area of X football fields burned down" is misleading: it makes surfaces look bigger than they are. When people say "300 football fields", it is really about 210 hectares. Use the map above to see it at real scale.

Where do the football-pitch dimensions come from?

The dimensions of a football pitch are not fixed. They are set by Law 1 (The Field of Play) of the IFAB Laws of the Game, the body that — together with FIFA — writes the rules of football. According to Law 1:

Normal matches: length (touchline) minimum 90 m (100 yds) – maximum 120 m (130 yds); width (goal line) minimum 45 m (50 yds) – maximum 90 m (100 yds).

International matches: length minimum 100 m (110 yds) – maximum 110 m (120 yds); width minimum 64 m (70 yds) – maximum 75 m (80 yds).

— IFAB, Laws of the Game, Law 1: The Field of Play

For the maths on this page we use 105 × 68 m (7,140 m²), the size FIFA recommends for elite-competition stadiums and the most common one at big grounds. It is only a reference: as the rules show, a pitch can be quite a bit larger or smaller.

See other amounts

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by @penguinjournals and @BuzzkoMarketing