DALTON, Ga., March 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- FieldTurf announced today that it has appointed Jim Froslid to head up North American Soccer Sales and Marketing. Froslid will be based in Minneapolis, Minn., where he will oversee soccer projects across North America and link the company's explosive growth into the fast expanding soccer industry.
"With expertise and exceptional success, both on and off the field, Froslid is the right man for the job," said John Gilman, FieldTurf CEO.
Froslid has 15 years of national and international experience. In soccer marketing and communications, Jim has two FIFA World Cups and the US Men's National Soccer Team under his belt. Most recently as President & General Manager of the Minnesota Thunder, Froslid led the Thunder to its five most successful financial years in its 15-year history.
Froslid's soccer career has led him to more than 25 different countries where he was the recipient of FIFA's Most Valuable Award for his department's outstanding performance in 1994. As business executive for US Soccer, and as a member of the USL Executive Committee, Jim made significant contributions to the league and to the sport. Some of his many awards include: United Soccer League's Executive of the Year (2002), Marketing Excellence Award (2002), and Organization of the Year (2003).
"I am thrilled to be part of the FieldTurf team," said Froslid. "FieldTurf's enormous growth in soccer is because FieldTurf plays like real grass. Nothing less will do. And, because soccer is the world's most popular game, the demands to play it at all levels are extraordinary. This is particularly true in the United States, where soccer has been growing exponentially in the last 10-15 years, especially among females and within ethnic communities. FieldTurf is the only product in the industry that has been around long enough to match this growth step by step."
Froslid's initial management of US Soccer's Under-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., helped launch the careers of many of the nation's top youth players, including World Cup superstars Landon Donovan and Demarcus Beasley, and teenage phenom Freddy Adu.
"Jim will expand on our recent successes," said Hank Steinbrecher, FieldTurf European Chief and former head of the US Soccer Federation. "FieldTurf has duplicated how a soccer ball reacts to natural grass. Soccer relies on its turf just like golf relies on its greens. If it is not perfect, then it takes away from the game. This is illustrated in UEFA's most recent artificial turf testing, where FieldTurf ranked #1 unanimously."
FieldTurf was the first synthetic grass field in the world to receive FIFA's official recommendation and UEFA certification. FieldTurf fields have been chosen by many of the top stadiums in the world. Seventy percent of the English Premier League's clubs use FieldTurf for training, as do Spanish La Liga giant, FC Barcelona, and top Scottish clubs, including Rangers FC.
"We're delighted to see Jim on Board with FieldTurf," added John Koskinen, President of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. "We value our partnership with FieldTurf as FieldTurf brings the soccer community the opportunity to significantly increase the playing time on soccer fields. In particular, through the US Soccer Foundation's 24/7 field program, more and more soccer clubs are installing FieldTurf to meet the playing time demands of boys and girls."
FieldTurf is the world leader in artificial turf, with more than 1300 installations in 40 countries. FieldTurf is a privately held company that has revolutionized the artificial turf industry with its patented products and installation technologies. FieldTurf offers a full range of artificial grass solutions.