The company has gained an international reputation for the quality of its work on some of the world's leading sports arenas, and Manchester United striker Michael Owen appears to be impressed. Owen publicly blamed the poor conditions of the field for his hamstring injury earlier this year, which required surgery and dashed his hopes to play in the World Cup.

After his club's recent Community Shield clash with Chelsea, Owen commented: "As soon as we walked on the pitch, we looked at each other and said: ‘what a difference'."

The company used its unique "grassmaster" system at Wembley, comprised of reinforced natural grass. Grassmaster is said to offer maximum protection from injury, and Desso has supplied the FIFA-approved system to other leading football clubs, including Anderlecht and Tottenham Hotspur.