UEFA Euro: the English Choose Luxury, the Hungarians Go for Peaceful Bavaria

Although it may seem a long way off, the European Championship will soon be here, and preparations for it have of course already started in the background. The accommodation, for instance, has already been selected and booked: England’s team will be able to relax in absolute luxury after the matches, but of course, the Hungarian team is not faring badly either, writes Világgazdaság.

The England squad will be staying in Blankenhain, an hour and a half south of Leipzig, at the Weimarer Land Golf and Spa Resort. It has everything you could possibly imagine: in addition to luxury rooms and suites, there is a swimming pool, sauna, gym, a huge golf course outside, and even a standard-size football training pitch.

In keeping with the spirit of the modern age, it will not be waiters who pick up the dirty dishes at the end of meals, but robots. The hotel’s two head chefs are both Michelin-starred, but just in case, the English football federation will bring its own chefs and dieticians to ensure that nothing interferes with the nutrition required for world-class sporting performance.

The entire complex cost around between GBP 800,000 – 1 million (EUR 900,000 – 1.1 million) to book.

As for accommodation for the fans,

prices have skyrocketed across the country because of the European Championship.

In Cologne, for instance, where the England-Slovenia group match will be played on June 25, a three-star hotel has gone from an otherwise EUR 100 a night to EUR 1,300.

Compared to England, the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) is more restrained in its preparations, although the Hungarian team will also be in Cologne for their first group game on June 15. However, the second two matches will be in Stuttgart, two hours from where the Hungarian team will be accommodated in Weiler im Allgäu, on the border with Liechtenstein.

The MLSZ said that the accommodation had been chosen on the recommendation of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and that the training pitch and other facilities are included in the discount package at the venues recommended by the continental body. The Hungarian federation’s leaders have pointed out that the two-hour bus journey to Stuttgart may seem like a lot, but it is no more than the plane journey with all the hassle. However, the flight to Cologne, six hours away by car, will probably be unavoidable.

Based on the information on the UEFA website,

the hotel of the Hungarian national team will be the four-star Hotel Tannenhof Sport & Spa.

The MLSZ added that UEFA regulations state that all teams must arrive in Germany at least five days before their first match, so the Hungarian national team will take up base on June 10. The national team is scheduled to start its direct preparations for the European Championship on May 27 in Telki (near Budapest), playing two training matches before the kick-off.

As it stands, the team size for the European Championship will be 23, but it may be increased back to 26, as has been the practice in the tournaments during the pandemic. What is certain, however, is that the final list of players will have to be submitted to head coach Marco Rossi by June 7, the deadline for entries.

The Hungarian national team’s remaining UEFA Euro preparation matches:

• June 4, 8:45 p.m.: Ireland-Hungary
• June 8, 6 p.m.: Hungary-Israel

Hungarian national team matches for the European Championship:

• June 15, 3:00 p.m.: Switzerland-Hungary
• June 19, 6:00 p.m.: Germany-Hungary
• June 23, 9:00 p.m.: Scotland-Hungary

Via Világgazdaság, Featured image: Facebook/MLSZ – Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség