Eric Cantona, the sporting legend and former captain of Manchester United is launching a travel brand in collaboration with DHARMA, the travel startup that has previously launched travel brands for iconic people and brands such as Equinox and Culture Trip.
“Our idea was to create the most passionate football trips on earth, with charisma and soul. Everything today is optimized for price—we wanted to optimize for passion,” says Eric Cantona in a press statement.
Looking FC named after the Looking For documentary series produced by Cantona and his brothers (Canto Bros Productions), features 4-day trips crafted by Cantona himself that take guests on an immersive sporting pilgrimage to explore global football cities through the lens of the world’s most vibrant clubs and their loyal fans. Trips culminate with a Game Day experience seated in the passion sections of iconic stadiums for big League and Champions League matches. In addition to the big game, trips feature unique experiences such as fan chant workshops with superfans, sports-themed graffiti walking tours with local historians, and tactics briefings with leading journalists.
Manchester (United), Buenos Aires (Boca), Liverpool (Liverpool), Milan (Inter), Madrid (Real Madrid), Barcelona (Barca), Paris (PSG), Lisbon (Sporting), and Casablanca (Raja) are the nine trips that will be featured this season, with fixtures on the calendar including a Liverpool v. Manchester United at Anfield, a Real Madrid v. FC Barcelona El Clasico at Bernabeu, and a PSG v. Marseille Le Classique at the Parc des Princes. Each signature itinerary is designed for groups but is also bookable privately for friends and families. Prices start from $1.475 pp based on double occupancy and include all accommodations, experiences, most meals, guides, and match tickets.
In line with Cantona’s persona, Looking FC also takes a people, planet, profit approach. It has announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Common Goal, donating 1 percent of its revenue to supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Initiative. Each trip is built with an emphasis on supporting local businesses and all trips are carbon offset through Thrust Carbon.
Leah Howe, CXO and co-founder at DHARMA, and former managing director and inspiration behind Equinox’s travel brand Equinox Explore says, “DHARMA brings the passion economy to the travel space by applying the people-buy-people mantra that has been tried and tested for products to experiences. When you build an experience for a specific community it is hyper-personalized. Am I going on a fitness trip curated by my favorite wellness instructor, or a culinary trip curated by a star chef, or on a football trip designed by my idol? The future of travel is social.”
Charaf El Mansouri, CEO and co-founder at DHARMA added, “Over the next decade social media will drive the most significant disruption in travel history. Eric Cantona represents the authenticity and soul that 3B+ football fans crave around the world. We believe the future of travel will be driven by passion, not geography. As people re-assign their identities to online communities, the need for IRL connection with like-minded people will only grow—that is the space DHARMA’s travel-brand-as-a-service model is pioneering.”
For more information, visit lookingfc.com.
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