A World Cup begins for most fans with the opening match kickoff – but for the teams much earlier: with the journey there. And while today charter flights, VIP lounges and reserved hotel wings are standard, World Cup history has seen journeys that are barely imaginable in the age of modern team logistics. We have compiled some of the most curious transport stories – a small journey through eight decades of football that shows that the path to the tournament was sometimes almost as exciting as the tournament itself. You can find more exciting stories about the tournament in our World Cup history.
Let's start with an example that belongs more to the realm of beautiful legends: Bolivia's alleged "llama parade" before the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. In later accounts, the Bolivian delegation is said to have ceremonially marched through La Paz with llamas before departing. However, there is no reliable historical source for this scene – it should therefore be regarded more as a folkloric anecdote than as established fact. What is certain, however, is that the journey to Brazil in 1950 was logistically much more demanding for many teams than it is today. Flight connections were still tedious, and not all teams could rely on comfortable direct flights.
The arduous journey of the English team is particularly well documented. For the 1950 World Cup, England flew to Brazil on a Lockheed Constellation. The 31-hour journey went via Paris, Lisbon, Dakar and Recife to Rio de Janeiro. Of the 20 players, initially only 17 were on board. The rest had to make their way to Brazil later for various reasons.
There was also a special feature in England's 1950 squad: Stanley Matthews was not initially scheduled for the trip to Brazil. The later English football star was on a goodwill tour of Canada with an FA selection. Only after he impressed there did he receive the news to travel to Brazil. Matthews subsequently flew via New York and Trinidad and reached Brazil after about 28 hours – just a few days before England's first match.
Even more adventurous was South Korea's journey to the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. The team departed just six days before the tournament began. First by train from Seoul to Busan, then by ship to Japan. There it turned out that the planned aircraft was too small. The team had to be split up; one group flew via Calcutta and Italy to Switzerland, with even a propeller damage causing an additional delay on the way. The other players traveled via Bangkok to Europe. In total, the Koreans spent around 65 hours just in airplanes and only arrived in Switzerland on the eve of their first match.
The journey of East Germany to the 1974 World Cup also had a special historical background. The team participated in a World Cup for the first time – precisely in West Germany. East Germany and West Germany were also drawn in the same group and met on June 22, 1974 in Hamburg. The tournament was thus not only a sporting event, but also an extraordinary chapter in post-war German history.
Zaire also made headlines at the same World Cup. President Mobutu used the team's participation for political self-promotion and generously equipped the delegation. The team was treated and accommodated prominently in Germany accordingly. The idea of an actual "state visit" with an extraordinary journey cannot be verified as clearly as some later accounts suggest. However, it is certain that Mobutu attached great political importance to World Cup participation.
What does this teach us? The journey to the World Cup was itself part of the myth for decades – between propeller aircraft, long stopovers, improvised travel plans and legends. And the 2030 World Cup will also be a special case in terms of travel logistics: In addition to Spain, Portugal and Morocco, three centenary matches will take place in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. For the first time, the tournament thus connects six countries on three continents. FIFA therefore plans additional travel and recovery times for the affected teams.
Those who want to see how the path to the 2030 World Cup develops can find all current matches in our 2030 World Cup qualification schedule. And who knows: perhaps in 2030 another team will again provide a journey that people will smile about decades later.