{"id":295295,"date":"2023-10-06T00:24:45","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T00:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/?p=295295"},"modified":"2023-10-06T00:24:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T00:24:45","slug":"mail-sport-reveals-the-logistics-of-moving-an-nfl-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstons.com\/nfl\/mail-sport-reveals-the-logistics-of-moving-an-nfl-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Mail Sport reveals the logistics of moving an NFL team"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>As the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare to play in London again this weekend, Mail Sport reveals the mind-boggling logistics of moving a team across the Atlantic<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Jacksonville Jaguars have embarked on a 10-day international trip<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>They will play two games in different stadiums, plus travel to and from two hotels<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Mail Sport&#8217;s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With 20,000lbs of equipment and 180 travelling staff, the mechanics of moving each NFL team between American cities are mind-boggling.<\/p>\n<p>So how about the Jacksonville Jaguars\u2019 10-day international trip? Encompassing two games in different stadiums, plus travel to and from two hotels \u2014 each with meeting rooms, training equipment and purpose-built locker rooms?<\/p>\n<p>You need to speak to Hamzah Ahmad, the go-to guy in sport logistics. As the Jaguars\u2019 director of football operations, he has been organising trips to London since 2013.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When I first started with the Jaguars this was my first project, to come out to the UK and find a hotel and practice site,\u2019 says the unflappable Ahmad.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We worked with other teams that had been out here before \u2014 but now that we\u2019ve done it every year, I\u2019ve become the resource for everyone else,\u2019 he laughs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/00\/76229481-12600307-image-a-61_1696548045705.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>NFL giants Jacksonville Jaguars have recently embarked on a 10-day international trip<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/00\/76229483-12600307-image-a-60_1696548044503.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The team, pictured during training in the UK, have quickly accustomed to their surroundings<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/01\/76229487-12600307-Hamzah_Ahmad_the_team_s_director_of_football_operations_has_orga-a-30_1696551028761.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Hamzah Ahmad, the team&#8217;s director of football operations, has organised all of Jacksonville\u2019s ten trips to London\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve done it in different ways. We\u2019ve done a week-long stay. In 2014, we played the Bengals and came straight from a domestic city, Cincinnati, to the UK.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018And then we started doing the short model \u2014 departing Jacksonville on Thursday, arriving Friday, playing the game Sunday and departing afterwards. And now all the other teams have kind of copied that model depending on who they are playing.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>That model has been ripped up this year. Jacksonville are the first team to play back-to-back games in London, and the extended trip is just another logistical puzzle for Ahmad to solve.<\/p>\n<p>Before last Sunday\u2019s win over the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley, they stayed at The Grove in Watford. After it, they embarked at Hanbury Manor in Ware, their new base ahead of Sunday\u2019s game against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018So we moved during the game, essentially. We closed the curtain and changed hotels behind the scenes. Open the curtain and players jumped on buses after the game and we showed up to the new hotel. They didn\u2019t see anything behind the scenes, which is the goal.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This is a new venture for us, doing two games back-to-back. But it\u2019s no different than going to the west coast and playing Seattle and staying and playing the Rams and then coming back to Jacksonville,\u2019 says Ahmad, for whom moving parts and parcel is just a way of life.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It takes us about 60-75 minutes to load the buses leaving games,\u2019 he adds. \u2018We use six total buses, with about 180 passengers. 53 players, 17 practice squad players. Then you\u2019ve got 36 coaches and multiple support staff. You\u2019ve got equipment, video, trainers, PR, broadcast&#8230; yeah, it\u2019s a full operation.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018This trip is very similar to the domestic side. We are used to loading up all that equipment. The challenge is to be able to do that internationally. We use a private FBO (fixed based operator) so a private aviation area for our plane out of Stansted. We use the same carrier, same aeroplane. The main difference is passports and clearing customs once you arrive.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Did the lengthier stay mean considerably more equipment?<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Not that much more,\u2019 he says. \u2018We brought in probably anywhere between 15,000-18,000lbs of equipment last year and this year we brought into the neighbourhood of 20,000-21,000lbs (almost 10 tonnes).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/01\/76229421-12600307-Jaguars_staff_prepare_to_leave_Wembley_following_their_win_over_-a-31_1696551051818.jpg\" height=\"795\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Jaguars staff prepare to leave Wembley following their win over Atlanta last Sunday<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/01\/76229423-12600307-Jacksonville_pack_up_at_Wembley_ahead_of_Sunday_s_game_at_Totten-a-32_1696551058061.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Jacksonville pack up at Wembley ahead of Sunday\u2019s game at Tottenham against the Bills<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The main thing we added this year was checked bags. Last year it was only a three-night stay. So this year for nine nights, everyone had checked bags.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ahmad, who makes regular trips to the UK, begins thinking about the trip each March and block books hotels before the NFL\u2019s schedule release in May.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Our goal is to provide them with a home away while they\u2019re travelling, so we take over the whole hotel. What I look for primarily is being able to have enough meeting space for all of our players, the guest rooms and having a pitch on-site is the biggest factor when I pick a hotel.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The Jaguars hire a company to assemble weight rooms, a locker room and equipment rooms on site. Both the team and the NFL store heavier items in England.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We work hand in hand with the NFL,\u2019 Ahmad says.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We still bring 20,000lbs of equipment with us. All the kit they are wearing, and all the helmets and shoulder pads comes with us on the plane.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Aside from condiments that are shipped in \u2014 Frank\u2019s Red Hot Sauce, American ketchup and barbecue sauce \u2014 the team works with hotels to provide food.<\/p>\n<p>And what of any potential pitfalls? Unsurprisingly, the man who has to think of everything has already thought of that.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018If a player doesn\u2019t have a passport, there\u2019s no work around. So we set up a passport day in the middle of mini-camp and we do a whole process with young guys coming in and the guys that don\u2019t have passports.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018So we\u2019ve got a full system for that as well,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/01\/76229583-12600307-The_Jaguars_will_take_on_the_Buffalo_Bills_at_the_Tottenham_Hots-a-28_1696550963639.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Jaguars will take on the Buffalo Bills at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday<\/p>\n<h2>BILLS WATCHING BRIEF\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>The Buffalo Bills look exactly like the team they were expected to be last season. Continuity, decent drafting and bringing in hungry free agents have made a machine.<\/p>\n<p>They average over 33 points a game and are only the sixth team to score 135 points and allow fewer than 60 points in the first four games of a season. The previous five all played in the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps they like playing with a chip on their shoulder. It looked that way on Sunday when they outmuscled the Miami Dolphins \u2014 who scored 70 points against Denver the week before \u2014 in a 48-20 win.<\/p>\n<p>Quarterback Josh Allen threw more touchdown passes than incompletions (four to three) against Miami as his understanding with superstar receiver Stefon Diggs continues to scale new heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/10\/06\/01\/76229589-12600307-The_Buffalo_Bills_have_looked_exactly_like_the_team_they_were_ex-a-29_1696550963645.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The Buffalo Bills have looked exactly like the team they were expected to be last season<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Fun to watch,\u2019 head coach Sean McDermott said of the Diggs-Allen duo. McDermott will be equally delighted with his defence. They lead the NFL in sacks (16) and takeaways (eight) and are second in points allowed. \u2018We\u2019re just trying to wake everybody up and make people talk,\u2019 defensive tackle Ed Oliver said.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, Buffalo (3-1) face an AFC rival \u2014 the already acclimated Jaguars (2-2), following their Wembley win over Atlanta last Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019re just focused now on the challenge of going to London with a team who\u2019s waiting for us, basically,\u2019 McDermott said.<\/p>\n<p>It could be a great leveller as London takes a first look at a genuine Super Bowl contender.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/nfl\/article-12600307\/As-Jacksonville-Jaguars-prepare-play-London-weekend-Mail-Sport-reveals-mind-boggling-logistics-moving-team-Atlantic.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Jacksonville Jaguars prepare to play in London again this weekend, Mail Sport reveals the mind-boggling logistics of moving <span class=\"more-text\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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