Todor Proeski pitch damaged after David Guetta concert; yellowed and patchy ahead of Switzerland game

The playing surface at Todor Proeski Arena shows visible damage after the David Guetta concert held on 8 September, with several areas yellowed and patches completely stripped of turf.

Journalists who entered the stadium ahead of the national team’s press conference on 16 September saw the current condition of the hybrid pitch, which the Football Federation of North Macedonia (FFM) has previously spent large sums to install and maintain. The damage follows the presence of spectators on the field during the event; the report notes about 20,000 people were on the pitch.

Concern ahead of the Nations League match vs Switzerland

The impairment is especially worrying because North Macedonia faces Switzerland on 26 September in the new edition of the UEFA Nations League. Despite protective underlay being used during the concert, the turf suffered clear harm and now displays yellowing and bare spots in multiple places.

The problem is not as severe as the damage recorded in Bitola last month, when the pitch reportedly "burned" after Zdravko Čolić’s concert in August and FK Pelister still cannot play home matches there. In Skopje, the pitch’s condition has already forced FK Vardar to stage home fixtures on the FFM field — including the match against Arsimi — and the club will again play away from its own ground this coming weekend against Shkendija Arachinovo.

Aside from the turf concerns, the 8 September event set a stadium attendance record: approximately 50,000 people were at the arena. That number exceeds the venue’s football match capacity of 33,011; by comparison, matches against Croatia and Serbia during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers drew around 32,000 spectators.

The visible state of the pitch raises questions about short-term repairs and whether the hybrid surface can be fully restored before the national team’s Nations League fixture on 26 September.

Photo: press material from the event