Pey, who until recently was working at the University of Ghent, will now be meeting other staff members of Sports Labs at their head office in Livingston and familiarising himself with the latest testing techniques for sports surfaces.

He is already very experienced in all aspects of sports surfaces inspection and testing and will be able to provide a comprehensive service from his base in Ghent.

He has tested artificial pitches, tracks, indoor floors and other facilities.

Sports Labs said that having an active presence in a central location in Europe will make it more responsive to client's requirements and allow it to access markets which were previously closed to the company.

It will also provide opportunities for some of the staff to carry out testing in Europe.

Pey will have all the necessary equipment to allow him to service the variety of sports surfaces which require testing, in addition to the back up provided from the UK and other locations.

The new venture will hit the ground running shortly after the FIFA Round Robin.