VIKINGS HIGHLIGHT HIDDEN LONDON CHALLENGE
The Vienna Vikings’ trip to London this weekend may be only one game on the AFLE schedule, but the Austrian club’s preparations have highlighted a reality that every European league hoping to establish a foothold in Britain will eventually have to confront.
For all the excitement surrounding international expansion, the post-Brexit world has turned a relatively straightforward road trip into a logistical exercise involving customs paperwork, passports, equipment transport and contingency planning.
“We are not fan of the Brexit but, hey, what can you do?” admitted Vienna head coach Chris Calaycay during the club’s weekly press conference. “It took us a little bit more effort, more time, more paperwork to make sure that the entire team, the coaches, the staff will be there with everything we need.”
The undefeated Vikings travel to face the London Warriors on Sunday in what will be the first meeting between the clubs, but they will not be the only visitors to encounter those complications. Every other AFLE side will eventually make the same journey — indeed some already have — during the season, while the issues raised by Vienna could provide a useful case study for the European Football Alliance as it prepares to welcome a London franchise in 2027.
Calaycay revealed the extent of the planning required behind the scenes, after the Vikings initially believed they would have to ship equipment to Britain before the team travelled, potentially forcing them to alter their practice schedule. Those plans changed later in the week, but only after extensive work from the director of player personnel and other club staff.
“There’s probably going to be a hiccup,” Calaycay smiled. “We’re not having a chartered flight, it’s a standard flight, so we’ve got to make sure that everybody’s passports are there and visas are taken care of and the overhead bin stuff and luggage and all that stuff.
“The main message to the team was be flexible and understand that this is probably going to be a little bit different travel than we’re used to.”
Even finding accommodation proved more complicated than expected, with major events taking place in the capital at the same time.
“Dang Harry Styles has a concert in London,” Calaycay joked. “There were some issues with the hotels and having reservations and they go, ‘Sorry, we pulled your reservation.'”
For organisations accustomed to travelling freely within mainland Europe, Britain now presents a different set of considerations. Teams must account not only for players and coaches, but also helmets, shoulder pads, medical supplies, sideline equipment and video technology. Commercial flights, rather than NFL-style charters, leave little room for error.
Those are issues that will similarly affect the Berlin Thunder, Rhein Fire, Panthers Wrocław, Paris Lights and Firenze Red Lions when their turn comes to visit London, if they haven’t already. And they are questions the EFA itself will need to answer if, as expected, it expands into the British capital next season.
A London-based club would become the only team repeatedly crossing the UK-EU border, potentially placing additional demands on travel budgets, scheduling and roster management. It may also accelerate the need for league-wide partnerships with airlines, hotels and equipment transport providers. Such concerns are hardly insurmountable, although the scale of the leagues and their short time in existence will undoubtedly play a part. The NFL has spent almost two decades refining its London operations, while European rugby and basketball teams make similar journeys every year. But Vienna’s experience serves as a reminder that expansion involves much more than simply putting a pin on the map.