Here, is a tailor-made program for a company trip to the mecca of football (soccer), England!
We Norwegians love football. And no league makes us cry out more than the English Premier League. Clubs such as Liverpool FC and Manchester United have around 40,000 members in each country, which tells us something about the interest level about what is happening every weekend on the other side of the North Sea. More and more business leaders are seeing that by organizing a trip to one of England's football cities and fulfilling their employees’ dreams, it may just be the key to taking their company to a new level. Here is an example program of what a company trip to Manchester can look like, as well as some easy to follow, general advice.
Currently, both SAS, Norwegian and Ryan Air all offer good direct routes to / from Oslo / Bergen / Stavanger - Manchester for a long weekend Friday - Monday. We recommend planning a long weekend including the entire day of Saturday and Sunday in England, as matches can often be moved from one day to the next given short notice, due to the rights of the TV channels.
Friday
Departure from Oslo, arrival in Manchester and transfer to the hotel. We recommend staying in the trendy Northern Quarter district, which is bustling with shops, restaurants and bars.
The first night we reserve a table for you at Tattu in Spinningfields, a super popular spot with wonderful Asian fusion dining. David Beckham and Bastian Schweinsteiger attended the restaurant’s opening night and both City and United players meet here regularly.
After dinner we return to the Northern Quarter and do a pub crawl, with stops at places such as, Kosmonaut, Whisky Jar, Noho Bar or Tariff & Dale.
Saturday
Conference in the morning at the hotel followed by lunch at the cozy The Oast House.
After lunch we stroll 10 minutes from the restaurant and take the canal boat to Old Trafford! A really fun way to get to the football match, while talking and enjoying a glass of Guinness. The boat stops right next to the stadium. If we are a larger group, the easiest way to obtain match tickets is to order VIP tickets directly from the club. That way we can also combine the match with a visit to the museum, food before or after the match, as well as the opportunity to meet a former United legend. After the match, we take the canal boat back the same way, avoiding the long lines exiting the stadium and head into the city again!
On Saturday night we have reserved “party dining” for the group at the Neighborhood Restaurant. Here we have previously met players such as Rooney, Fellaini, Shaw and Blind. Lovely atmosphere, great food and fabulous not to have to relocate after dinner but rather let the party come to us!
Sunday
It is never enough to watch just one football match while you are in England! On Sunday, we take the train out to one of the many nearby cities and watch a match in the PL or one of the lower divisions. Cities such as Burnley, Stoke, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds are all a short train ride from Manchester.
Sunday night is then rounded off with a quality dinner with charcoal grilled meat at Hawksmoor.
Monday
On Monday we set out for some shopping and lunch at Home Sweet Home, before the bus takes us to the airport to catch our return flight to Norway.
Interest in football in Norway is only increasing and many are dreaming of experiencing the best leagues in Europe up close. In this article, we have given you a finished program on a trip to Manchester. How about combining your company trip with big football matches and experience some of the world's biggest stars? We can help you with tickets to all the major leagues in Europe, such as. Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Pass the ball to us - we guarantee that you will take home the trophy!