Once you’ve purchased your football goal, it’s important to ensure it’s fit for purpose and safely rooted to the ground with the right anchors to stop it overturning…
You may have noticed that we’re on a quest to ensure clubs and coaches are educated when it comes to looking after goalposts correctly. Once you’ve got your football goal, it’s important to keep it safely secured with the correct type of anchors so it’ll stay upright even after the toughest of shots.
Based on information provided by BS EN, ASTM and AS Safety Standards, we’ve pulled together a quick and easy to read rundown of the type of anchors you should have for your goal and how to use them correctly…
Socketed Goals
Also known as semi-permanent goals, socketed goals drop into the ground sleeve sockets that are concreted into soil, such as our FORZA Alu110 Socketed Goals. This means that the goalposts are fixed into the ground to prevent them overturning.
Each ground sleeve socket should be at least 46cm (18.5”) deep and secured into the ground using a minimum 60cm x 60cm x 60cm cube of concrete. If the soil is weak / sandy, you may need to increase the amount of concrete used.
Integral Weights / Self Weighted Goals
Some manufacturers build in weights inside the backbar / bottom frame of freestanding goals or offer weights to slide inside. These weights inside the goal act as a counterbalance to prevent overturning.
Integral weights can be bought when purchasing the all of our FORZA Alu110 Freestanding Goals or ordered separately if any have gone missing during the summer break!
Steel U-Pegs
U-Pegs secure freestanding goals into the ground to prevent them from tipping over. Each U-Peg goes over the backbar / base frame of the goal and is hammered into the ground using a rubber mallet. Don’t forget though… the number of U-Pegs required depends on the size and weight of the goal, as well as the strength of the soil you’re pushing them into!
If the soil is quite crumbly or sandy, it’s better to use a different type of anchor such as sandbags or steel anchor weights.
Sandbags & Steel Anchor Weights
Sandbags and Steel Anchor Weights can be used on any hard surface, acting as a counterbalance to anchor the goals to floor.
Sandbag weights are really easy to install and are simply placed over the backbar / base frame of the football goal. Our sandbag weights can be filled with sand, stone or soil and weigh 20kgs (44lbs) when fully filled.
Steel Anchor Weights, also known as handbag counterweights, have chains with snap hooks to attach to the goal’s backbar / base frames and are available in 17kgs (37lbs).
Depending on the size of your goal, you will need either four or six weights to ensure you’re anchoring your goal correctly:
| Weights | Goal Sizes |
| Four | 12ft x 6ft | 16ft x 4ft | 12ft x 4ft | 8ft x 4ft | 6ft x 4ft |
| Six | 24ft x 8ft | 21ft x7ft | 18.5ft x 6.5ft | 16ft x 7ft | 5m x 2m | 3m x 2m |
There we have it, the rundown of the best types of anchors to suit your goal! If you need any assistance, speak to our helpful Customer Care Advisors on Live Chat or call +44 (0)1691 683 807.
By: Andrew Griffiths