Brighton & Hove Albion’s pre-season was upended after training pitches in Evian-les-Bains were left unusable following their use as helicopter landing zones during the recent G7 summit, forcing the Seagulls to cancel a friendly, remain at their Lancing base and move an alternative camp to Austria ahead of a packed summer schedule and the Premier League return.
Brighton scramble preseason plans after Evian pitches damaged by G7 helicopter landings
Brighton & Hove Albion arrived to find training fields at Evian-les-Bains torn up and unusable after they were used as helicopter landing sites during the G7 summit. The damage has forced the club to abandon the planned French camp and seek alternatives with minimal disruption to fitness and tactics work ahead of the new season.
Immediate fallout: cancelled friendly and Austria relocation
The club cancelled its scheduled friendly against FC Annecy and kept players training at the Lancing training ground while staff arranged a replacement camp in Austria. Brighton will fly out to that alternative base this weekend, with the closed friendly against Strasbourg on Aug. 1 still expected to go ahead.
Preseason fixtures and the lead-up to the Premier League
Brighton’s remaining warm-ups now include high-profile home games against Roma (Aug. 8) and Bologna (Aug. 15) before opening Premier League duties against Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium on Aug. 23. The disruption shortens valuable on-the-pitch preparation time as the team balances fitness, tactical drilling and squad cohesion.
Why this matters: real risk to preparation and momentum
Unexpected logistical problems like this matter because structured preseason work underpins early-season form. Brighton finished eighth last season and qualified for the UEFA Conference League; entering a congested campaign with European football, the club cannot afford lost training time or disrupted routines. Keeping the Strasbourg friendly and the home fixtures against Roma and Bologna helps, but the shift in environment to Austria will require quick adaptation.
How Brighton can mitigate the disruption
Maintaining training intensity at Lancing before departure, clear communication from the coaching staff, and making the Austria camp as focused as possible are immediate priorities. Coaching continuity and carefully managed minutes in the coming friendlies will be key to restoring the preparation curve ahead of competitive matches.
What this episode reveals about external vulnerabilities
This is a reminder that elite clubs’ plans are sometimes at the mercy of wider events—diplomatic summits, local politics and infrastructure use can unexpectedly collide with sporting schedules. For Brighton, the test will be how efficiently they convert a logistical setback into a controlled, productive pre-season phase rather than letting it erode early-season momentum.
Outlook
If Brighton use the Austria camp to sharpen tactical clarity and protect player fitness, the disruption can be absorbed. Failure to do so could show up in the opening weeks of the Premier League and in the early rounds of European competition.
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The coming friendlies and the coaching staff’s response will reveal whether this is a minor hiccup or a preparatory hindrance.
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