Premier League clubs told to 'put themselves on right side of history' by reducing flights

Sport England president Chris Boardman has criticised the "wildly inconsistent action" being taken by Premier League clubs to combat clime change, with flying the astir evident country to address

Premier League sides are being urged to dramatically trim the fig of flights they instrumentality successful bid to bash their spot to tackle clime change.

Top-flight clubs person an addiction to taking short-haul home flights to distant matches which could beryllium easy reached by coach. Teams often determine to charter backstage jets successful bid to trim question time, adjacent though it is astir 40 times worse for the environment.

BBC probe successful March 2023 revealed that 81 flights were taken by Premier League sides successful a two-month play which contained conscionable 100 matches, contempt analysis showing that 84 per cent of distant games could beryllium reached by manager successful little than 4 and a fractional hours. Just past week, Tottenham defended their decision to alert backmost from Manchester erstwhile contacted by Mirror Football pursuing a backlash from fans connected societal media.

There is besides the contented of Premier League clubs choosing to play pre-season friendlies successful the United States and Tottenham flying 21,000 miles to Melbourne to play a affable against Newcastle 3 days aft the last time of past season. Chris Boardman, the president of Sport England, believes flying is 1 of the simplest issues to face and would amusement that the Premier League is superior astir its sustainability commitments.

“In the UK, arsenic it is for galore different countries, shot is our nationalist game,” Boardman said successful a keynote code astatine the Sport Positive Summit. “In the Premier League, we person the astir fashionable sports league successful the world, with a scope and power that is unparalleled. But we are seeing wildly inconsistent action.

“This year, fractional of the Premier League – 10 clubs – flew to the United States … for friendlies. Manchester United ’s pre-season docket saw them flying astir 13,000 miles to play fixtures successful Norway, Scotland, and crossed the US. Spurs and Newcastle played an accumulation fixture successful May – 3 days aft the play finished – for which they some flew to Melbourne, Australia, a crippled Alan Shearer described arsenic ‘madness’.

“Add successful those aerial miles and some teams volition person travelled successful excess of 30,000 miles, equivalent to much than erstwhile astir the globe, to play successful non-competitive matches successful the closed season.”

He added: “I’m a pragmatist, not a motivation absolutist. I don’t judge successful outright bans connected flying, but we each request to onslaught a overmuch amended balance. It is clip for each of our apical shot clubs to measurement up, and enactment themselves connected the close broadside of history.”

Speaking to Mirror Football successful March, Boardman said: “Imagine if a planetary sports prima did what [Marcus] Rashford did and said ‘I’m not going to halt flying, due to the fact that that’s not viable, but erstwhile I’m successful Europe I’m going to get the train, who’s with me?’ Can you ideate the interaction that would have?

“I deliberation they’d beryllium amazed however galore of their peers would basal with them. It’s a batch to inquire of an individual, but if 1 idiosyncratic did that the interaction of the fanbase and however we determination would beryllium huge. Football is immense and they’re punching beneath their value astatine the moment. I privation they’d enactment more.”

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