FEARS over the safety of Alton’s new 3G football pitch have been allayed by the release of research data which has been adopted by the Football Association, Rugby Football Union, The Football Foundations and England Hockey as current best advice.

The issue, which made national media headlines, raised concerns that the rubber crumb contained within the pitches might be causing Hodgkin’s lymphoma among players, with goalkeepers at particular risk as they spend so much of their time on the ground.

The upset comes less than three months after the opening at Anstey Park of the new all-weather 3G pitch at the Enclosure. And it threatens to put a spoke in the wheel of a facility that has been a long time coming.

But Ben Norfolk, chairman of Alton United Youth Football Club, was adamant that there was no problem with the pitches. He said: “All the studies and research to date show no link between the rubber crumb used on our surface and carcinogens. If I wasn’t content with that evidence, I wouldn’t let my own daughter play her games on the pitch.”

Paid for by Molson Coors, the pitch has helped facilitate the relocation of Alton Town Football Club to Anstey Park and the merger with Alton United Youth Football Club, following the closure of the Coors Sports Ground on Anstey Road.

The 3G – or third generation – pitch was needed to take the wear and tear expected from two busy and thriving clubs, as well as the wider community.

Owned by Alton Town Council and leased to the clubs, the upgraded facility, which includes a covered stand, floodlighting and refurbished changing rooms, was officially opened in December 12 and has been well used ever since.

But on February 18, the Daily Telegraph newspaper carried an article on the subject, focusing on the case of a young goalkeeper who had developed the cancer and referring to allegations made about the pitches, particularly in the United States.

It was highlighting the legacy project that departing FA chairman Greg Dyke believes will “transform football”. Following in the footsteps of Germany, where there are 3,735 public-access 3G pitches, it will see the start later this year of work on a £230m plan to build around 500 new 3G pitches in what the governing body describes as “hubs” in English towns and cities.

According to the Daily Telegraph, starting in Sheffield, in partnership with the government and the Premier League, it will eventually result in 3G hubs at the heart of football development in England to bring the number of pitches to more than 1,000 across the UK.

These third generation pitches can be played on for 80 hours per week, as opposed to the five hours per week the natural grass version can withstand.

But those cautioning against 3G have a powerful aadvocate in Nigel Maguire, 52, a former NHS trust chief executive whose son Lewis, 18, has the blood cancer Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Described as “an excellent schoolboy goalkeeper”, Lewis was on trial at Leeds United when the cancer was first diagnosed and, while Nigel makes no direct allegations, he wants installation of all 3G pitches to cease while tests are carried out on the rubber crumb, which comes from recycled tyres.

There are roughly 100 metric tonnes of rubber crumb on every 3G pitch and Nigel believes that the carcinogenic elements of the crumb, especially on hot days, have not been fully understood. His son dived into it, inadvertently swallowed it and, most likely, had it enter his cuts and grazes.

An article in the Daily Mail on February 1 flags up similar concerns in America where investigations are ongoing into the safety of materials used in 3G pitches.

In the UK, extensive research by the leading national governing bodies of English sport suggests that claims raised in the media as to the safety or environmental risks associated with these pitches and their constituent parts, commonly SBR crumb rubber, “have no foundations and lack any scientific evidence to substantiate them”.

Alton Town Council has decided to follow the advice adopted by the FA, RFU, the Football Foundation and England Hockey and based on the report which states that reliable scientific data should be the basis of any discussion regarding the safety of 3G pitches and the crumb rubber infill.

The report continues: “The numerous scientific studies conducted by government agencies around the world, and undertaken by independent experts, have all validated the human health and environmental safety of 3G pitches and crumb rubber. The national governing bodies hold a bibliography of this research with in-depth findings and data which can be provided on request.”

In addition, over the past 12 months Labosport, an independent laboratory specialising in the testing of sports surfaces, has assessed crumb rubber in the UK, the European Union and the United States using the same test method required for testing children’s toys, and it has not once found any toxicology issues undertaking these tests.

The national governing bodies are said to take “the health, safety and welfare of 3G pitch users very seriously” and the FA has a register of approved pitches, which includes Alton’s 3G pitch, which has been sanctioned by officials of world football governing body FIFA.