Logistical and Technical Study Spain Tour 2010

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Author: Davinder Sangha | 28th January 2010 | www.sassco.co.uk

Logistical and Technical Study

Sassco.co.uk Spain Tour 2010

22nd 25th October 2010


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Logistical and Technical Study Sassco.co.uk Spain Tour 2010

Author: Davinder Sangha | 28th January 2010 | www.sassco.co.uk Page 2

Table of Contents

Origins of the tour. ............................................................................................................. 3!Costs (deposits and flight ticket purchasing). ................................................................ 3!Essential planning. ............................................................................................................ 4!Insurance. ........................................................................................................................... 4!Team wear. ......................................................................................................................... 4!Marketing. ........................................................................................................................... 4!Travel from UK to Spain. ................................................................................................... 6!In Spain and the hotel........................................................................................................ 6!Match presentations. ......................................................................................................... 7!The return flights to Newcastle.

........................................................................................ 7!Tour footage. ...................................................................................................................... 7!Final costs of the Spain Tour 2010. .................................................................................. 7!Tour success. ..................................................................................................................... 8!Italy Tour 2011. ................................................................................................................... 8!


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Origins of the tour.

Cyprus was the preferred destination for the 2010 tour, but Spain was chosen as Gary Thomas,

who arranged the Portugal Tour was able to cross the border near Faro in Portugal to arrange

games on the south coast of Spain. Isla Canela was chosen as the venue, but massive costs in

transportation caused the price to increase.

For this reason, it was decided to focus elsewhere and Barcelona was chosen as the destinationdue to very cheap flights from easyJet.

Another problem rose in that many of the 14 members of the Portugal Tour squad were unable to

commit. Reasons were varying, including unable to pay the deposit in one go, some having

children due in October and redundancy.

This reduced the eventual members to only five with one new addition. We were prepared for this

and in early May, it was decided to make contact with some small sided teams in Barcelona.

Website message boards were searched and people were contacted asking if they play football or

know of anyone. Facebook was also used.

Port de Barcelona had a Futsal Facebook Group and a message was placed. In return, Oscar

Penaroyal replied and we had arranged our first indoor game on the Friday evening.

The other contacts were Alan Moore and Richard Ashcroft. Both these were sourced by searching

for message boards in Barcelona and electing responses to see if anyone knew of anyone playing

in Barcelona. Both Alan Moore and Ashwan were purely amateur and played for fitness and

enjoyment.

Contacting a local complex at Barcelona, which held its own league, sourced the final game.

Judith Estrada at MIC Football mainly arranged 11-a-side football, but we were placed in touchwith Mikki Alcon who played for UE Sants, a semi-professional side which also had a cut-down

futball sala (futsal) team.

The key points in getting the groundwork done after choosing the country were as follows:

Using Google Maps to identify the venues, as we would be arranging our own transport.

Blitz the internet with searches for sports venues in Barcelona as well as message forums

based in Barcelona, looking for English speaking people who could arrange fixtures for us.

Checked online Barcelona newspapers for sports venue addresses (with emails).

Contact the tourism office in Barcelona to gain contacts.

Checked Facebook for groups in Barcelona.

Tour members.

The only new member was Mark Edmondson, who arranged flights himself.

Tim Gillespie

Dave Gourlay

Scott Hembrough

Mark Edmondson

Davinder Sangha

Costs (deposits and flight ticket purchasing).


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The actual match cost wasnt calculated as we only paid a small share depending on the

fixture.

The apartment held six people and cost a total of 484.00

Flight cost was 150 per person and payment was made by VISA card (not debit card). This was

because VISA covers in case of anyone going out of business. There was a percentage surcharge,

but for peace of mind, it was the correct way to pay. All major payments were made by VISA card.Deposits were specifically requested in order to ensure early booking. Also, the tickets were non-

refundable, so it made sure that anyone paying was committed.

Key points to be aware of would be:

Always paying any large amount (over 100) by genuine VISA card.

Recommend purchasing flights as early as possible to get the best price and the best

routes.

Essential planning.

Planning was very low key. The vest shirts purchased in bulk for a potential 11-a-side tour wereused. Sponsorship was not forthcoming, so existing polo shirts and coats were provided. Shirt

printing was done using inkjet paper and printing.

Key points were:

Ensuring that the passport had not expired.

Providing checklists for items such as shorts, socks and shin pads.

Players were asked to provide their own shorts, socks and shin pads. The team shirts were given

before check-in.

So to sum up:

Dates confirmed and apartment chosen along with details of the venues.

Mass publicity and a costing of the tour including a deposit due date.

Use of Facebook in combination with the website to publicise the tour.

A comprehensive checklist to be formed.

Passports to be checked first.

Travel details to be strictly adhered to.

Insurance.

The team was not playing in a competition and only in friendly games so match insurance

requirements was vague. Basic insurance was taken out.

Team wear.

No sponsorship was received from Red Fox Hosting Limited, but a new Adidas vest was used and

badged with the Spain Tour logo as well as Sassco badge and player names on the reverse.

The shirts were given to the 5 playing members to keep after the tour. Existing burgundy polo

shirts and the new Adidas style three-stripe track tops were also provided. There was a strict

understanding that the official team wear should be worn when travelling

Marketing.

Not much publicity for this tour. Mention was made in the local press, but the Facebook Groupgenerated a great deal of interest close to the time and the official website had a countdown timer

until the first game kicked off.


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Travel from UK to Spain.

The logistics of getting the 5 players to Spain was easily worked out. The lead-time to Spain was

comfortable, and the squad arrived on schedule, as well as having a good few hours before the

late 6:00pm kick off

In Spain and the hotel.

Once in Spain, luggage was easily collected and we used taxis to get from the airport to theapartment. We had to use two taxis.

The apartment was located in a predominantly business section of Barcelona, but there were a

splattering of restaurants, shops, etc. in the near area.

The apartment also had a WLAN Internet connection available for use. .

22nd October (Friday) Port de Barcelona 6:00pm Pabello Zal, Port de Barcelona, Indoor Gym.Played at the Port de Barcelona industrial venue indoors. The team lost, but made a strong secondhalf comeback in which the scores were equalised.

Port de Barcelona 14 Sassco.co.uk 8Davinder SanghaTim Gillespie 3

Scott Hembrough 2Dave Gourlay 2Mark Edmondson 1

Afterwards, we spent an hour or so having a drink with our opponents, who kindly taxied us back toour apartment.

23rd October (Saturday) Ashwan FC 1:00pm Complex Sportius Llars Mundet, Outdoor 3G.

An afternoon game played outdoors in tremendous heat. The team secured its first win.

Ashwan FC 8 Sassco.co.uk 9

Davinder SanghaTim GillespieDave Gourlay 5Mark Edmondson 2

Scott Hembrough 2

We were given a guide of the underground system by one of Ashwan FCs players, which helpedus a great deal and saved money with taxis for the rest of the tour.

23rd October (Saturday) ALM FC 7:00pm Colegio Sagrado Corazn de Sarri, Outdoor 3G.The second game was played outdoors in the evening, which was getting cooler. Sasscodominated, but could only manage a high-scoring draw.

ALM FC 7 Sassco.co.uk 7Davinder SanghaMark EdmondsonDave Gourlay 3

Scott Hembrough 2Tim Gillespie 2


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24th October (Sunday) UE Sants 10:45am Poliesportiu La Farga, Indoor Gym.The final game was played on Sunday at an indoor venue. UE Sants dished out a one-sided

hammering to Sassco, despite the team borrowing UE Sants second keeper.

UE Sants 10 Sassco.co.uk 3Davinder Sangha

Tim GillespieScott HembroughDave Gourlay 1Mark Edmondson 2.

Match presentations.We didnt prepare any presentations, but did provide badges to the opponents in the first game.

Espanyol v Levante La Liga game.On the Sunday evening, we travelled to the Espanyol stadium to watch the home team take onLevante. Tickets were booked in advance after David Gourlay realised the fixture was on.

The return flights to Newcastle.The return to the airport was done using a combination of underground and taxi. The flights tookoff on schedule and the team arrived back in Newcastle late in the afternoon.

Tour footage.

Only photographs were taken in Barcelona and not much video footage.

Final costs of the Spain Tour 2010.The costs were calculated as follows (some are approximate figures):

120 per 5 persons for the hotel and games.

150 per flight for 13 persons.

Other costs included taxi fares and underground fares.

The recommended procedures, as mentioned in this document, are summed up below:

Choose a location country, ideally with good flight links from the nearest airport. Find out

about low cost flights to the destination. Buying in bulk will get a discount.

Search extensively on the Internet for country based tour guides and operators. Also check

the local football association's details. Use networking sites such as Facebook to identify

contacts.

Choose a date for the tour, but make sure that everybody (players, tour operator, hotel

manager) is aware that the dates will be flexible and based around the available flights. Identify nearby hotels and drive the price down as much as possible, but best to purchase

the hotel combined with the flight.

Once the flights have been identified, set a date for a deposit of around 50%. This will be

classed as non-returnable.

Make sure you always remind those interested not to be vague about coming. Ask for a

straight yes or no answer and ask if they are able to pay the deposit by that date.

ALWAYS PAY BY CREDIT CARD (not debit card or cheque). There will be an extra 1 or 2

percent added to the total, but this covers the payer in case anything gets cancelled, etc.

Once deposit is in, purchase the flights and hotel. Advise the tour op and hotel. Try and

arrange flight seating together.

Prepare a detailed checklist. Main things to look at are:o Passport details to match the flight ticket name.


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o Passports to be valid and not expired. Some countries demand passports that have

no less than six months before they expire.

o Arrange basics such as shorts, socks, football boots, shin pads. Always recommend

two pairs of each.

Provide pennants and presentation items before each game for the opponents. These can

be sourced by looking on the Internet for custom pennants.

Ensure cameras and camcorders have back up batteries, extra tapes/discs. Some countries require power plug adaptors.

Make email contact with potential opponents. Realistically, opponents would not be

confirmed until around a month before the tour. Contact other teams in the area as potential

back ups.

On the day of the flight, make sure that everyone is reminded about passports and kits, etc.

In the destination country, make sure that you have a good supply of water for all the

games.

If recording using a camcorder, make sure every full tape is stored separately after use.

Use the safe at reception if required.

Use the hotel's Internet connection or local internet cafe to upload photos to Facebook or

into your space. This is to ensure that if anything is lost, at least the imagery will beavailable.

On the return journey, ensure that seating is arranged together.

Tour success.

The tour was successful, but quite hectic. It did prove that it is possible to arrange games easily

with contacts overseas. Travelling within a major city such as Barcelona was never going to be a

problem as taxis and the underground system.

All the match reports, detailed photos as well as full footage in good quality of all three days of the

tour are available on the website http://www.sassco.co.uk. All the relevant companies and

suppliers web links are also on the site.

Italy Tour 2011.The next tour was provisionally scheduled for Cyprus in September 2011. Flights by Jet2.comturned out to jump by 50%, so Venice, Italy was chosen with a low cost of 150 per flight. Theflights by Jet2.com fly from Leeds / Bradford. The tour is due to take place between 9th and 12th

September 2011.

For further information, please contact:

Davinder Sangha | 07780 972630 | [email protected]

Also, visit the website: www.sassco.co.uk where you will find information on Sassco.co.uk and the

forthcoming Italy Tour in 2011.

Documents

Logistical and Technical Study Spain Tour 2010