A real big club traveling by train rather than by plane, it is possible.
In the short or medium term, at least.
Betis Sevilla, currently 4th in the Spanish championship, has made this eco-responsible mode of transport its hobbyhorse.
By signing an agreement in mid-December 2019 with Renfe – the historic railway company in Spain – for the transport of its teams, just before the Covid crisis, Angel Haro, the president of Betis, had undertaken to wear the colors of the Verdiblancos high. (green and white) in environmental conservation.
"The environment and sustainable development are part of our corporate social responsibility objectives," reaffirmed Haro during a press briefing on Tuesday.
We are very committed to this.
So, it's true that we got off our roadmap a bit because the Covid almost forced us to take a plane.
Even today, we travel by plane despite the agreement with Renfe.
But little by little, we will reduce our carbon footprint again in accordance with the objective we have set ourselves.
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On Saturday, the Verdiblancos went by plane to face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid (2-1 defeat), even though the kick-off time, 4:15 p.m., would have allowed the round trip by train.
But eventually, the women's and men's football teams, as well as the basketball teams of the more than a hundred-year-old Andalusian sports club, will travel aboard "AVE" ("Alta Velocidad Española"), the equivalent of our TGVs.
Oars will be privatized for athletes and their staff.
FC Barcelona once traveled by bus
Winner of the King's Cup last season and qualified for the Europa League, Betis does not see any major drawbacks in this option to the recovery of Nabil Fekir and his teammates.
The club also intends to overcome logistical problems and other disturbances to public order in the station, while the passion for football and its actors reaches in Andalusia heights comparable to those of South America.
In Spain, a country with a good rail network and open to competition from French and Italian companies, other clubs, such as FC Valencia and Getafe, have already used the train.
But not the great FC Barcelona, which traveled by bus for a time, at the beginning of last year, highlighting the reduction of costs.
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Global partner of La Liga, Renfe communicates on the fact that the matches of the domestic championship are accessible on board its trains.
In Italy, where Trenitalia also have an agreement with Serie A, Juventus Turin tried the rail experience during a league match at the Sassuolo ground in May 2021. In three hours of travel to edge of the "Frecciarossa", Cristiano Ronaldo, Buffon and other Rabiot were on site.
This season, Liverpool have chosen the train to reach Fulham
In the other major championships, in England and Germany, awareness of reducing the carbon footprint is very present but is only in its infancy in strict terms of transport.
The time seems over when Manchester United chartered a plane for ten minutes of actual flight to neighboring Leicester, in the north of the country, last November.
This season, for the first day of the Premier League, Liverpool chose the train to reach Fulham, a London club, some 300 km further south.
Isolated initiative that the Reds did not fail to highlight, however…
Across the Rhine, Bundesliga players hardly take the train so far.
On the other hand, the Germans have directly thought of a low carbon impact competition for their Euro 2024. The group stage will be held in only two regions in order to "reduce the distances for the teams and the supporters and favor the train or the bus from their base camp to the place of the matches", explains the organization.
“For the first time, specifies UEFA, the environmental impact has been included in the criteria of the tournament regulations.
Perhaps salvation lies in completely redesigned domestic and international competitions.
