High-profile pre-season tours are a double-edged sword for women’s game | Suzanne Wrack

Clubs can make money from travelling abroad but there are concerns over the environment and players’ wellbeing

High-profile pre-season tours have become the norm for Premier League clubs. Gone are the days when they would only set up training camps to ready themselves for the new campaign. Now, the summer represents an opportunity for clubs to maximise revenue, reach new audiences outside the saturated European football market and prepare for the new season, all in one go.

Women’s teams embarking on long-distance tours against major international club rivals is a relatively new development. The launch of the Women’s International Champions Cup in 2018 demonstrated the demand for such fixtures, with Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City travelling to the United States to compete against North Carolina Courage in the mini tournament, which has been held three times since. Clubs have realised there is money to be made and lucrative audiences to reach in the women’s game, too. And things have stepped up a gear this summer. Within days of the final matches of the season, Arsenal went to Australia to play an A-League All Stars team, marking their first time in the country.