Football clubs like to fly to away games to make recovery periods as long as possible. In England, however, the demand for private jets currently exceeds the supply – and the travel behavior of the clubs does little to protect the climate.
“Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong”Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said last week the British broadcaster BBC after his side’s game at Leeds United. “It started yesterday. We didn’t have a plane to get here so we took the bus. The players could fly but it was a long bus ride for the coaching staff.” The misery continued in the game, said Tuchel. Chelsea lost 3-0 at Leeds.
Great Britain: Increased interest in private charter flights
The “Bloomberg” portal reported on Thursday that there was increased interest in privately chartered aircraft in Great Britain. Many companies switched to this means of travel during the pandemic, but have not yet returned to their old travel behavior.
In the case of football clubs, there is a need for larger aircraft in particular, in order to transport the coaching staff as well as the players. At Chelsea, to Tuchel’s chagrin, only the players could fly. According to “Bloomberg”, Leeds United ordered three smaller aircraft for a game in Southampton (2: 2) and plan to do the same for another game. According to the report, Newcastle United’s travel plans to the 0-0 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion “should have at least been changed”.
Apart from Tuchel, no player from English football commented publicly on the subject.
Football and climate: Soon more games in the European Cup
Recreation plays a decisive role in stress management in sport, the bus is only used for shorter distances in football. Otherwise, the plane is popular to keep travel times short. The time pressure for teams and coaches between all the appointments in the league, cup and European cup is great. And it will be even bigger in European football when UEFA reforms the three European competitions from 2024.
There will then be 64 additional games in the Champions League, 48 games in the Europa League and twelve games in the Europa Conference League. The total of 124 other games means more travel stress – but also more CO2 emissions, especially for a regular European Cup participant like Chelsea FC, who also accompany many fans and journalists as travelers. UEFA has set itself the goal of being carbon neutral by 2040. Sustainable travel is the biggest issue.
Tuchel after sanctions: if necessary in a seven-seater to the game
Thomas Tuchel spoke differently about trips to football games in mid-March. When sanctions were imposed on Chelsea’s then-Russian Roman Abramovich amid Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the club were to be restricted from accruing travel expenses. Before the game in France at OSC Lille in the Champions League, the question arose as to whether Chelsea could fly there at all.
“If we don’t have a plane, we’ll take the train. If we don’t have a train, we’ll take the bus. If we don’t have a bus, I’ll drive a seven-seater. Mark my words.”