Trump and Starmer's helicopters force Brighton to quit French training

Brighton & Hove Albion’s pre‑season schedule was thrown into disarray after helicopters carrying US President Donald Trump and former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer landed on the club’s intended training pitches in France during the G7 summit. The disruption forced the Seagulls to abandon their French camp and look elsewhere.

The club had booked facilities in Evian‑les‑Bains, a town on the French side of the Swiss border, for a training block from July 23 to August 1. Those dates were set to give the squad a solid preparation window before the competitive season.

Following the damage, Brighton relocated its base to Austria. The Austrian venue will now host the team for the remainder of the pre‑season period.

The playing surfaces were ruined when helicopters, transporting various heads of state, touched down on the fields. Among the passengers were US President Donald Trump and former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose arrivals coincided with the high‑profile G7 summit held last month.

Club staff discovered the unusable state of the pitches upon arrival on Wednesday. They deemed the condition a potential injury risk for the players and therefore unsuitable for training.

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler and his squad initially trained at Brighton’s Lancing ground on Friday. A move to the alternative Austrian base is planned for Sunday, while work on the Lancing facilities continues.

Saturday’s friendly against French Ligue 2 side Annecy was cancelled and replaced by an in‑house training match. The club quickly reorganised to keep the players active.

A second friendly against Ligue 1 club Strasbourg on August 1 will still be played, although at a different venue than originally scheduled.

Brighton will later host Italian clubs Roma on August 8 and Bologna on August 15 as they return home. These fixtures are part of the final warm‑up phase before competitive action.

The Austrian‑based preparations lead into the first leg of the Conference League play‑offs on August 20, with the Premier League season set to begin three days later against Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium.