Get the ball rolling ahead of the Champions League Final

Air Partner - 25 mag 2016

Bar managers across the Spanish capital are no doubt rubbing their hands with glee as Real Madrid and old rivals Atlético Madrid prepare to go head to head (and foot to foot) in the 2016 UEFA Champions League final on Saturday.

Over the course of the past year, 78 clubs have played 216 games across Europe in a bid to lift the coveted trophy – racking up the air miles in the process: it’s estimated that they have flown on a total of approximately 200 flights and a team going from the Group Stage to the final would have flown an average of 9,000 miles.

As the 2015/2016 season draws to a close, Air Partner has pulled together 10 interesting facts about the Champions League for the football fans among you….

 

 

1. The game will be the sixth tournament final to be played by two teams from the same league

2. It is the third all-Spanish final in the tournament’s 60-year history

3. The all-Madrid final guarantees that Madrid will become the most successful city in the European Cup with 11 wins and 17 final appearances

4. Cristiano Ronaldo goes into the final needing just one more goal to match his own record of 17 in a UEFA Champions League campaign

5. Real Madrid have not won a single game during their last 14 visits to the San Siro in Milan, where the match will take place (it’s one of the very few stadiums at which Ronaldo has never scored a goal)

6. Gabi from Atlético has covered the most ground in the tournament, clocking up an impressive 135km

7. If Real Madrid win, manager Zinedine Zidane will become the seventh person ever to lift the trophy as both a player and a manager

8. The trophy weighs 7.5kg, which is equivalent to roughly 17 footballs

9. Liechtenstein is the only country out of the 54 UEFA member associations that is not represented in the competition since it doesn’t organise a domestic league

10. In 2015/2016, Air Partner has flown more teams, greater distances than ever before in the Champions League – we are proud to be partnering with the best!

 

Air Partner has been a prominent player in the football industry for years, as it understands the very special requirements, demands and trials of Team Travel. In 2015 alone, the group flew 43 teams over 200,000 miles across 31 countries. Air Partner cannot wait to start the whole process again for the 2016/17 campaign with the opening draw on the 28^th June. To find out more about getting Air Partner on your team, please call our sports specialists on +44 (0)1293 844 887 or email sport@airpartner.com