Choosing the Dutch for flying instead of train to Paris is very bad


Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 11:56 PM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 00:13

There has been some fuss about the Dutch national team. The selection of national coach Ronald Koeman will take the plane to Paris on Thursday for the European Championship qualifying match with France on Friday evening. Frank Huisingh, founder of Fossil Free Football, finds it disturbing that the Dutch prefers polluting flying to a journey by train of more than three hours to the French capital.

“It is really a shame that they are going to fly and that they choose that polluting option,” Huisingh sighs on Wednesday evening Along the line by NPO Radio 1. “There is disappointment, anger and annoyance with me. They can do better and the options are there. Look, it is also the week that the IPCC’s climate report will be released. We all have to do our best and large companies in particular have their responsibility. football does not have to solve the climate crisis, but they can just set a good example. It is three hours and ten minutes from Schiphol, then you are in Paris,” Huisingh clarifies once again.

Huisingh, who lives in Paris, will visit the match on Friday evening. “Boycotting is not necessary.” He then tries to explain why the KNVB simply opts for flying. “Of course you have to arrange things around the safety of the players, and that they can safely board the train. In France there was a huge discussion about statements by Mbappé and Galtier, the coach of PSG. Then the French railways also said that they could sort that out.” The player and coach laughed at a press conference last September when they were asked why PSG went to the away match against FC Nantes by plane and not by train.

In any case, Huisingh has launched a playful campaign. “Today I was printing a train ticket that I hope to give to a KNVB boss or Ronald Koeman. And then the boy next to me was surprised that I wanted to print such a large train ticket. Then I told him about this action. And he immediately started about that example of Mbappé and Galtier. That has received a lot of attention in France. ” Huisingh emphasizes that his action has a serious touch. “I think it’s important that football as an industry with such a huge impact and that so many people watch, just set a good example when it comes to climate.”

Mbappé and Galtier burst out at a press conference after being asked by a journalist

The PSG striker and coach laughed hard after a comment about why there was flying.Read article

“And now you see that there are still a lot of polluting sponsors in football,” emphasizes Huisingh. “Lots of big clubs sponsored by airlines. A few years ago, UEFA was sponsored by Gazprom. The Africa Cup is sponsored by Total, the French oil and gas company. And then you have a lot of polluting banks. “football is just a huge stage for polluting companies that ultimately exacerbate the climate crisis. And that also has an impact on football. Ultimately, the fields become drier when it rains less in the summer. So in the end, football just has to break with those polluting sponsors.” this is how the KNVB gets the message.