Brighton & Hove Albion have scrapped their planned pre-season camp in France after an unusual problem disrupted their preparations.
The Seagulls expected to spend more than a week in Evian-les-Bains as Fabian Hurzeler prepared his squad for the new campaign.
Instead, activity surrounding the recent G7 summit forced Brighton to change those plans and find another destination at short notice.
According to The Athletic, the pitches selected for Brighton’s training sessions had previously been used during the summit involving several world leaders.
US President Donald Trump travelled to the gathering alongside figures including former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Their helicopters used areas around Brighton’s intended training facilities as landing grounds during the summit in June.
However, the condition of those facilities eventually created a serious problem for Brighton when they prepared to begin their camp.
Club staff travelled to France before Hurzeler and his players to ensure everything was ready for their arrival.
After assessing the facilities, they informed Brighton that the planned training pitches could not provide suitable conditions for the squad.
Therefore, the club decided against taking any chances with an important stage of their summer preparations.
Brighton cancelled the entire Evian training camp and quickly switched their plans to Austria instead.
The sudden change also affected their friendly schedule, with a planned match against French side Annecy now cancelled.
Meanwhile, Brighton kept their players at the club’s Lancing headquarters while officials reorganised the remainder of the trip.
Hurzeler’s squad continued training there and arranged an internal behind-closed-doors match before their scheduled departure for Austria.
Despite the disruption, Brighton expect their friendly against Strasbourg on August 1 to take place as planned.
The Seagulls also have home warm-up matches against Roma and Bologna before competitive football begins.
Their schedule will then become increasingly demanding, with Europa Conference League play-off fixtures arriving around the start of the Premier League season.
Brighton begin their league campaign at home against Aston Villa before travelling to Chelsea later in August.
Want to get the latest transfer news direct to your phone? Join our WhatsApp community by clicking here.
