Thursday, September 27, 2012

What are "L-supports"?

A crash course in the different methods for goal net suspension, through time and round the world.



Full support stanchion or A-frame as pictured at Wembley. No mistaking those stanchions.










Continental D supports, popular in Central Europe in the 70's and 80's.



South American L-supports, as pictured at FIFA World Cup 1978 in Argentina. Native to South America, they're as Brazilian as Pele and yellow shirts and blue shorts.













Homogeneous free-hanging box goal nets as pictured at Wembley, but how can you really tell? If we don't campaign, these will be installed at each of the 12 stadia at the 2014 World Cup finals and you won't know if you're watching a game in Brazil or in London.

Please sign the petition.



The Petition

Historically, the different regions of the football world employed different methods of suspending the goal nets. In England and the Low Countries, full-support stanchions or “A-frames” were favoured. In Central Europe, triangular “elbows” or “Continental D” supports were preferred. In South America, “L-supports” were the method of choice.

In recent years, however, there has been a worldwide movement towards a uniform method of goal net suspension, the free-hanging box goal net as first seen on the global football stage at FIFA World Cup 1974 in West Germany.

While modern, and safe for players, we believe the global adoption of this method of suspension has led to a loss of local and national identity.

The respected football author Jonathan Wilson has written that, “If you’d shown me a photo of a net in the mid Eighties, I could have told you the ground,” but regrets that, “Globalisation has led to homogeneity,” and “Now… if you showed me a photo of a net it could be anywhere.”

The method of suspending the goal nets with “L-supports” – as seen at the 1950 World Cup final at Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro and at FIFA World Cup 1978 in Argentina – are local to South America and are as Brazilian as Pele, yellow shirts and blue shorts.




Please sign the petition and demand FIFA World Cup 2014 respects the traditions of the South American football region in general and Brazil in particular, and promotes the regional and national identity by installing the “L-supports” method of goal net suspension at each of the stadia at the World Cup finals in Brazil.

Thank you.