CHAMPIONS LEAVE
HAVING four Premier League teams in the two European footie finals is unprecedented.
And it’s putting an unprecedented strain on travel for the supporters.
Getting to Madrid for the June 1 Champions League clash between Tottenham and Liverpool (disclaimer: Reds fan for 50-plus years) is one thing, travelling to distant Azerbaijan for Chelsea and Arsenal’s Europa League showdown on May 29 is quite another.
It’s 2,500 miles from London. There Steph dreams of winning the 2019 World Cup
ALTOGETHER now... She lions on the shirt. England captain Steph Houghton has issued a rallying cry for sports fans to get behind the women’s football team at the World Cup in France this summer.
The Man City defender hopes to lead England to victory and inspire a new generation of girls to take up the sport.
Steph, 31, said: “The message to fans is just to get behind us and really support us and hopefully we can bring some smiles to faces this summer.”
England are among the favourites to are few direct flights around the time of the game in Baku (and they look to be full) so it’ll be via cities such as Kiev and from eight to 16 hours each way.
Train will take at least four-and-ahalf days. Driving would be 57 hours – not including overnight stops. Up to win the tournament, which kicks off on June 7. The BBC is covering every match via TV, radio or online.
Steph said: “The World Cup is massive. For people to be able to watch us back home that can’t get to France, it’s going to be an unbelievable tournament.
“I’d like to hope we can cheer everyone up by winning the World Cup.”
Steph, an ambassador for British Lion eggs’ #WonderEgg campaign, said: “My favourite pre-match meal is always eggs on toast.” Visit eggrecipes.co.uk 100,000 Spurs and Reds fans are likely to head to the Spanish capital for the Champions League final.
Flight prices have shot up (I saw a £1,192 return for what is usually £145).
But there may be a money-saving solution if you can take a week off. You could book a holiday from, say, May 28, on the costas around Alicante and Valencia. Yesterday I found seven-day self-catering and B&B hols from £172 per person with flights from Gatwick, and £274pp from Leeds.
There are regular express trains from Alicante and Valencia to Madrid. ■ Searches were with onthebeach. co.uk, loveholidays.com and icelolly. com. Prices – based on two adults sharing – correct at time of writing.