Football icon Eric Cantona has launched a new travel brand, which will provide football trips for fans to experience the passion behind the teams and stadiums, through the surrounding cities and communities.
Looking FC has been launched in partnership with Abu Dhabi-based travel start-up Dharma.
The four-day trips have been created by Cantona and will culminate with a game-day experience at iconic stadiums, for passionate league and European games. The trips will also feature unique experiences, such as workshops surrounding fan chants, street art walks with knowledgeable historians and tactics briefings with journalists.
Cantona said: “I love the kind of football that makes your heart pound and the stadium shake. Our idea was to create the most passionate football trips on earth, with charisma and soul. Everything today is optimised for price – we wanted to optimise for passion.”
The passion-focused trips that will feature this season include Manchester for Manchester United, Buenos Aires for Boca Juniors, Liverpool for Liverpool FC, Milan for Inter Milan, Madrid for Real Madrid, Barcelona for FC Barcelona, Paris for Paris Saint-Germain, Lisbon for Sporting Lisbon and Casablanca in Morocco for Raja Club Athletic.
Thrilling fixtures will be available to witness such as Liverpool for Manchester United at Anfield, El Clásico, Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona at Santiago Bernabéu and PSG vs Olympique de Marseille at Parc des Princes.
Cantona added: “If you are a Manchester United fan, watching a game at Old Trafford is a dream. But that’s only one part of the story – have you heard of FC United and what they stand for? Do you know the chants of Stretford End? Beyond its artistic beauty, do you know the significance of the Marcus Rashford mural to the local community?
“This is the essence of football, whether you are in Liverpool, Buenos Aires or Casablanca. These trips are for those who still believe in passion and want to go deeper into their love of football.”
Charaf El Mansouri, chief executive and co-founder of Dharma, said: “Eric represents the authenticity and soul that three billion football fans crave around the world. We believe the future of travel will be driven by passion, not geography.
“As people re-assign their identities to online communities, the need for in-real-life connection with like-minded people will only grow – that is the space Dharma’s travel-brand-as-a-service model is pioneering.”
Image: Dharma/Looking FC