Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?
While the pre-season locations of 20 Premier League clubs differ, one common concern lingers – the repercussions of numerous flights.
Half of the clubs (10) have opted to jet off to the United States for friendlies; three have ventured to the Far East, while the remaining ones are playing in Europe and the UK.
Manchester United’s pre-season itinerary will see them travel nearly 13,000 miles, engaging in matches across Norway, Scotland, and the US. Chelsea and Spurs are also projected to exceed 12,000 miles in travel.
On the other hand, Everton is set to have the least air travel, with only one match scheduled outside the UK, in the Republic of Ireland.
Additionally, several clubs are competing against nearby non-league teams, which aids in generating crucial revenue to support a sustainable football hierarchy and bolster the local economy. Southampton faces Eastleigh, West Ham will take on Dagenham, Villa is up against Walsall, and Palace is set to play Crawley.
Spurs and Newcastle also engaged in a friendly match in May—just three days post-season—in Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer labeled as “madness.” When factoring in air travel, both clubs will have accumulated over 30,000 air miles during the off-season, a distance that equates to more than one complete trip around the globe for non-competitive play.
Both Newcastle and Spurs aim to reduce their emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2040, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in the process of formulating an emissions reduction strategy.
Achieving Net Zero necessitates curtailing and eliminating all ‘non-essential emissions’—so the question remains, are these matches truly essential?
