FOOTBALL TRAVEL BY TOM NEWCOMBE
IN 2010, WHEN THE EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL VOLCANO erupted in Iceland and caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe, the then Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce was in talks to sign young Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who was looking for a move from his hometown club Lech Poznan. Allardyce was due to hold talks with
the player and was confident of securing the Ð4.5 million deal when the eruption happened. This meant Lewandoski couldn’t travel, the deal fell through and a few days later German outfit Borussia Dortmund swooped in and signed the player on a four-year contract.
He went on to become one of the most sought after players in Europe, eventually signing for European champions Bayern Munich and now worth an estimated £40 million. A season later Blackburn were relegated from the Premier League. The ash cloud crisis (see box, p46)
provides one example of the challenges working with the combined unpredict- able sector of travel and the equally chaotic world of football. However, on the face of it, there are many similarities between managing travel in football and in other sectors, as travel manager and player liaison officer at Premier League club Swansea City, Robert Young, explains. “The attention to detail is crucial, as it is in all aspects of travel management,” he says. “The timing of everything is important and unfortunately players, like business travellers, can be an impatient bunch of individuals, so timing is key.” In football travel there are the same issues to be dealt with as for any business, such as duty-of-care, security, negotiating rates with hotels, and traveller tracking in emerging areas of the world – although your traveller will probably be in Brazil scouting the latest £5 million-rated South American won- derkid rather than thrashing out a business deal for a blue-chip technology firm. But for football clubs travelling for regular away season games, every part of the trip must be rigorously planned to ensure everything is arranged for kick-off. Young says: “There’s always a big en-
tourage that will travel with the team on domestic away-games to ensure prepara- tion is perfect. For example, we will always take a chef with us, as it’s crucial what the players eat and that it’s prepared properly.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
Unfortunately players, like business travellers, can be an impatient bunch of individuals, so timing is key
We also need dedicated private dining areas for the players; all the rooms must be on the same floor; we will need a physio; and require kit rooms and meeting areas. “In the UK we work to a strategy: the hotel must be within a certain distance of the ground, as on matchday you have to be at the ground 90 minutes before kick-off; and pre-match meals must be eaten at the right time. If we get a hiccup along the line, it has a knock-on effect on everything else.” Guy Dunwoody is director at profes-
sional sports travel management firm TMG, which has managed travel for some of the biggest clubs in the UK, including Chelsea, Leeds and Manchester United. He explains how minor points have the potential to cause huge issues at a club. “In 2007 we helped manage a Premier League Asian tournament in Hong Kong and there was a commercial agreement in place with Lucozade, so the players had to be seen drinking only that brand of sports drink. Fortunately someone checked, and realised the recipe for Lucozade in Asia is different from Europe, so at the last minute a crate-load of Lucozade was shipped out to the tournament – it could have lead to a failed drugs test for many players. This is an extreme example of the importance of detail in football travel planning.”
PREMIER CREW In 1992, the Premier League was formed as a breakaway from the traditional football league format so the clubs could negoti- ate their own TV contracts. The first deal from 1992 ran for five years and was worth £191 million, a figure dwarfed by the TV rights deal announced in February this year, which saw BT and Sky pay the Premier League £5.1 billion. These incredible sums mean that even the club that finishes bottom of the league will receive almost £100 million, before prize money, sponsorship and European
revenue is taken into account. According to Deloitte’s 2015 Football Money League ‘rich list’, by the end of next season all 20 Premier League teams could break into the top 30 richest clubs in the world. Despite this influx of money, a travel manager in football must still account for every penny and work to strict budgets. Kate Suddards is sports account manager at ATPI, which manages travel for both Premier League and foreign teams. She says: “There is a misconception that football clubs are not concerned about the cost of travel. Budgets and costs are extremely important and need to be managed as strictly as any other organisation, so our relationship with the finance department at each club is crucial, and is something that is continually monitored and reported on.” However, when I speak to another
Premier League club travel buyer – who doesn’t want to be named – he says that because so much can happen in a season, the team’s priorities can quickly change, so budgets are flexible. “There are budgets in place for football, but these are rarely adhered to as ‘needs must’ take over. A budget is done for 19 Premier League games, Champions League fixtures and pre-season tours using historical informa- tion, but allowances have to be made for ad hoc travel that can’t be planned.” Despite requirements for hotels and flights being different, the negotiating process follows a similar format to that of other sectors. Suddards says she knows the “best possible negotiations” for the client are “paramount”. “There are usually only a limited number
of hotels in each city that will have the ability to correctly service football teams; however, this does not mean a premium price should be applied or accepted. We always negotiate as strongly as possible with all suppliers for any fixture.” Our Premier League travel buyer said
his club “relies heavily on the TMC [travel management company] to negotiate the best price for both flights and hotels; and we rely on waivers and favours to reduce some of the costs”. He adds: “Our players will always have to travel first class, especially coming back from international duty, at our cost – which for some players from the African countries can be very expensive.” Young says at Swansea they work to a budget but flexibility within those contracts
BBT MAY/JUNE 2015 45
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128