The Matildas’ luggage has still not arrived in Marseille, as their most crucial game since last year’s World Cup draws nearer. On Friday night, the Matildas squad flew from Spain to Marseille, on a private plane paid for by Football Australia.
The team’s personal luggage, medical kits and other key items and equipment have still not reached the team, and it’s just under four days until their opening match against Germany on Thursday (Friday 3am, AEST) in the south of France.
Anna Meares, Australia’s chef de mission said the squad is still expected to compete later this week, though acknowledged that the delayed luggage has been “not ideal”.
“This luggage was meant to be on several flights yesterday, but it did not happen. It’s not ideal,” Meares explained to reporters from Paris.
“Tape, strapping, scissors. They are also missing their re-sus kit, as well. These are things that are critical to performance, that we’re acquiring for them … in Marseille.”
“We are working with Football Australia to resolve this issue. Importantly, they are still able to train and prepare, and they have their training and playing kit with them.”
“It’s a cargo issue with the international travel and there are potential risks being on a commercial flight or a private flight. It was a decision by Football Australia to take a chartered flight to try and avoid those issues.”
Addressing the Matildas’ decision to catch a private flight (they are the only Australian team travelling to France this way) Meares said: “What it comes down to is the choice for Football Australia to create as normal an environment for their athletes.”
During a press conference over the weekend, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the travel options of athletes and their teams “comes down to a personal choice.”
“Our position is having the most sustainable games possible,” he said. Of course, we would encourage the lowest emission kind of transport possible for everyone else, us included.”
Organisers of the Paris Games have been touting its model of assessing its carbon footprint and setting itself the goal of halving its carbon footprint compared with the average of the last two Games.
It has also announced it will attempt to become the first carbon-neutral Games in history.
Georgina Grenon, the environmental excellence director for Paris 2024, has said: “We want to show that another model is possible and create a legacy for major sporting events.”
“We don’t claim to be perfect, but we want to show that we can do things differently.”
In May, she gave an interview where she admitted that most of the important changes made to the Games to make it more sustainable won’t necessarily be visible to people.
“But, for most people, probably the most surprising aspect of these Games in terms of sustainability will be to realise that it is possible to stage a major sporting event while reducing its environmental impact and increasing its social benefits,” she said.
“To see that in many details through their spectator experience : getting to the venues by public transport, entering the venue with their own reusable bottle (it’s forbidden normally in France), seeing a different food offering to choose from and not touching a single-use plastic bottle, noticing the venue was made of wood or recycled plastics.”
“These Games are truly setting new standards in terms of staging more sustainable events and, at the same time, they will still be spectacular.”