Premier League clubs under fire for flying as Green Football Weekend kicks off
Premier League sides are being urged to follow the lead of their lower-league rivals and kick their addiction to highly polluting short-haul flights.
The issue of teams chartering planes to whisk them around the country has come under the spotlight in the past year since Mirror Football's story about Liverpool taking a 33-minute flight back from Newcastle went viral last February. BBC research then revealed that 81 flights were taken by Premier League sides in a two-month period, containing just 100 matches.
When questioned, clubs have blamed scheduling and poor public transport links for their damaging choices, while pointing to the perceived performance benefits of reduced travel time. But on Green Football Weekend, new research and progressive action being taken by teams in the Championship and below have exposed the inaction of Premier League clubs.
Analysis by campaign group Possible shows that 84 per cent of domestic away games played by Premier League teams could be reached by coach in less than four and a half hours. Ditching the plane for a coach would make a significant difference, given each private jet flight produces 40 times the emissions on average.
Aviation campaigners at Flight Free UK have set up a petition calling on the UK government to ban domestic flights on routes that can be travelled by train in under four and a half hours. Meanwhile, charity Pledgeball has set up a sustainable travel charter, which aims to give clubs practical help in moving away from unnecessary flying.
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It has been signed by clubs including Millwall, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, QPR, Forest Green Rovers, Mansfield and Swindon and shows that sustainability can be compatible with high-level sport.
Millwall have signed up to the UN's Sport of Climate Action framework, which means they are aiming to cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The Championship club are passionate about their work in the area and set up a working group, called Lion Living, in January 2022 to push towards their objectives.
Millwall have a no-fly policy and take a coach or train to all away matches. Player travel only accounted for 0.1 per cent of the club's overall emissions in 2022, but as Stewart White, a member of the club's environmental sustainability committee explains, it is still extremely important.
Millwall have a no-fly policy and are making meaningful sustainability steps (Andrew Kearns/Getty Images)“We can’t preach to every fan coming to The Den the green way if we’re getting a flight to every away game,” he told Mirror Football. “Our team will only ever take a train or coach to away games – and we encourage everyone to do that. We know that some people may be coming from abroad where there are no other options, but for our away matches we take the train or a coach.”
Millwall’s stance comes as a stark contrast to Hollywood-owned Wrexham, who despite being in League Two, have made a habit of flying to away matches, taking 16 flights in their National League promotion campaign. Not only that, the Welsh side are actively encouraging their supporters to do the same, giving away 10 VIP tickets on their flight down to a fixture at Sutton United – a journey of 218 miles – last month.
The issue is particularly pertinent given the Green Football Weekend initiative taking place at the moment, which sees clubs and broadcasters encouraging fans to eat veggie meals to do their bit for the environment. Sky Sports and TNT Sports have already been accused of hypocrisy by football fans angry about fixture scheduling, which often makes travelling by public transport difficult – and top-flight clubs could risk a similar backlash if they don’t take action.
Clubs can take a coach to away matches (Clive Mason/Getty Images)“Football fans expect their clubs to take the climate crisis seriously,” said Frank Huisingh from the campaign group Fossil Free Football. “Green Football Weekend is an excellent way to encourage clubs and fans to take necessary climate action. At the same time, we can all see the inconsistency when clubs are still sponsored by airlines or take a private jet flight when there is a good train connection. We all know flying is the most polluting form of travel and football shouldn’t be in the business of promoting that.”
Freddie Daley from the Cool Down Network added: “If clubs want their fans to take up more sustainable behaviours, they have to be transparent and walk the talk. Flying short distances to and from games is an own goal that fans are right to call out. Hypocrisy is not a stable foundation to build a sustainable football culture on, but leadership and integrity are. When we talk about climate action, optics matter.”
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