LIFE ON TOUR – SURBITON HIGH SCHOOL’S PORTUGAL PRE-SEASON TOUR EXPERIENCE

 

It’s been a busy half-term for us here at inspiresport with several schools travelling on sport development tours.

We are the UK’s #1 provider of school and youth team trips and work with iconic European clubs including Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Man City, PSV Eindhoven, and FC Porto on an exclusive basis.

Our mission is to provide worldwide inspirational sports development tours for young players of all abilities, with unrivalled access to world-class clubs, coaches, facilities, and delivery of extraordinary sporting experiences.

But what can you expect from a tour with inspiresport? Surbiton High School recently travelled to Portugal on their pre-season football tour…

 

30 students and 4 staff embarked on a 5 day/4-night tour with FC Porto for their trip to Portugal’s beautiful second city.

 

Zak Elbekri, the tour leader, said:

“We toured for the first time with inspiresport back in 2018 to FC Porto, and it was absolutely brilliant – the girls still talk about it to this day. As a result, when looking to do another tour, it was a no-brainer to go back.”

After arriving in Portugal, the group were met by their dedicated inspiresport representative Amparo, a local rep who stayed with the party for the duration of their stay. They then went into Porto city centre to enjoy some free time to explore, before travelling to their beachside hotel after lunch. The afternoon was spent familiarising themselves with their surroundings, playing some beach games as a light training session, and enjoying dinner at their hotel. Following the groups early start, it was decided a good night’s sleep was in order to prepare for their first full day.

 

Day 2 started with breakfast at the hotel – when asked about the hotel chosen, Mr Elbekri commented:

 

“The accommodation was perfect for the tour. Plenty of options for food and a few different activities for the girls – table tennis, snooker, bowling, pool/beach etc, that everyone really enjoyed.”

 

Then on to the group’s first training session with FC Porto’s Dragon Force coaches which began with a Welcome Ceremony, lunch and transfer to the Constituição Park training ground for the second training session of the day.

 

“The coaching throughout the tour was of a high standard and fitted in very well with our school playing philosophy. Having been to FC Porto previously, we had high expectations but the coaching staff did not disappoint and helped us successfully achieve the objectives we had for the tour.”

 

With dinner back at the hotel and an evening activity of 10 Pin Bowling, the itinerary inspiresport had delivered was a thoroughly enjoyable and busy day.

 

Days 3 began with a leisurely breakfast, followed by another training session with FC Porto coaches. The early afternoon included some down time to allow the girls to prepare for the first of two friendly fixtures later in the day.

 

“The friendly matches were very competitive, and our girls put on a fantastic display even though there was a slight age gap between the teams. The second Dragon Force team we played were a little too strong for our second XI but other than that, the fixtures overall were perfect!”

 

The group returned to the hotel for dinner and some free time to relax and enjoy time with their teammates.

 

Day 4 followed a similar pattern to the previous one, with breakfast, a fourth training session and afternoon fixtures. With the evening meal back at the beachside hotel, the girls were able to spend time enjoying the warm weather.

 

Day 5 – the final day on tour, began with an early breakfast, room inspections and check out of the hotel. The transfer from the hotel to FC Porto’s Estadio do Dragao took about an hour, with the rest of the morning exploring the club’s museum and a behind the scenes stadium tour. As part of the FC Porto experience, the group enjoyed a closing ceremony and luncheon in the stadium, where the coaching staff presented the girls with certificates before joining them for a 3-course lunch. After a couple of hours, the group said their goodbyes to their coaches and boarded the bus back to the airport for their early evening flight home.

 

Summing up their tour, Zak said:

 

“Everyone involved had a fantastic experience. Amparo did an amazing job in managing our group – we couldn’t have asked for a better tour rep. Lots of good memories, good quality coaching received, competitive fixtures and new friendships formed. Exactly what we were after.”