Life & Aging White lines Previous Next Alex Chiendu Okafor: "I've worked for the city of Bern for two years and look after the football pitches on the common, among other things. They are mown twice a week and I have to repaint the lines afterwards. There are four large pitches, one training pitch and a rugby pitch." swissinfo.ch "I enjoy this job as I play football as a hobby and it gives me a good feeling." swissinfo.ch "The line marking is a mixture of air and white colouring. I always have to check that the filter is clean. Adjusting the height of the nozzle makes the lines broader or narrower." swissinfo.ch "Sometimes I need the string to correct previous mistakes. Without the string it's harder to make a straight line. Using string simply requires more time - plus I have to walk more." swissinfo.ch "In spring, at the start of the season, two of us do the pitches. Everything has to be redone and remeasured exactly." swissinfo.ch "I work alone. Sometimes the job gets lonely, but that doesn't bother me. I walk a lot - no idea how many kilometres, but a pitch is almost 100 metres long..." swissinfo.ch "This pitch is where teams from the fifth league, such as FC Bosporus or FC Pristina play - in addition to company teams, older people and sometimes even the Young Boys Bern. On Sundays I also kick around here with friends." swissinfo.ch "I also check the quality of the grass. My boss calls me and asks what the grass is like and whether the pitch is playable. If it has rained too much, we have to close the pitch." swissinfo.ch "The common is for everyone: dogs, families, footballers, people with frisbees. Sometimes people have barbecues here and have a few drinks. I then clear up behind them." swissinfo.ch "Some dogs dig a hole right in the middle of the pitch - that can be dangerous for players so I fill in the holes with sand." swissinfo.ch Picture 1 Picture 2 Picture 3 Picture 4 Picture 5 Picture 6 Picture 7 Picture 8 Picture 9 Picture 10 X marks the centre spot. This content was published on May 14, 2008 - 14:58 Christoph Balsiger More from this author Thanks to Alex Chiendu Okafor, players know where to take penalties from and when a goal’s a goal… (Pictures and text: Christoph Balsiger, swissinfo) You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us! If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.