Western Stars Sports Club have moved a step closer towards the reopening of their field at St John’s Road.

The Pembroke club’s relaid field underwent a stringent inspection on Friday, conducted by Fifa pitch consultant Andy Lee, as they look to resume hosting football matches in the new year.

“Our field is now ready for usage and in doing so we want to make sure that we have all the proper protocols in place and what our field can handle before we allow full matches here,” Scott Morton, who serves on the club’s Roots Foundation committee, which is in charge of the full field renovation project, told The Royal Gazette.

“We thought it would be best to get the highest-rated standing possible, and that’s through Horti-Tec Bermuda who did all the growing-in phase for us and have done an excellent job.

“It’s good to see the different techniques that they use to measure the pitch moisture, the compactness, etc. Andy does pitches all over the world to find out what’s the best environments to have a pitch grow and the maintenance that’s required, so that’s why it’s important for Sean [Horti-Tec Bermuda owner Sean Adams] to be here with him so he can give him a report on what’s going on.

“Andy is giving us the full test ratings that he would give professional fields around the world. So he’s checking how fast the water drains, checking the roots to see how far the roots are going down into the field and compaction of the soils that’s below.

“He also did a hard ball drop to test the compaction of the field and the response of how that is, so it’s all the different aspects dynamics that field can withstand with play.”

Morton, who also serves as the club’s football director, is grateful for Bermuda Football Association who have supported the endeavour.

“We want to also thank the BFA because we requested it to them directly through general secretary David Sabir, and they reached out to Fifa through their contacts and the persons to bring them in,” he said.

“The club is funding all of it while the BFA made all the arrangements to get Andy, etc, so we are thankful for the partnership with them to make this happen.”

Asked when will Premier Division and Dudley Eve Trophy champions Dandy Town, who fall under the auspices of Western Stars Sports Club, be ready to host their first match in seven years, Morton said: “That hasn’t been decided yet and that’s part of this testing to see how this field recovers, so that’s primarily the main reason which will determine when we have our first match here.”