Truro City and their dedicated fans are embarking on a momentous journey for their National League match against Gateshead this weekend.
With both teams located at opposite corners of the country, the match signifies the longest away trip ever recorded in English professional football. Truro supporters face a taxing 902-mile round trip, traveling from their southern Cornwall base to Gateshead, situated across the River Tyne from Newcastle.
After earning promotion from the National League South last season, Truro is now competing in the National League, which is the fifth tier in the English football hierarchy, featuring clubs from all over England.
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This season, Truro’s nearest opponents in the National League are Yeovil Town, located a mere 280 miles away in Somerset.
Adventurous Truro fans have already set the distance record earlier this season with an 878-mile round trip to Carlisle United, where nearly 80 supporters undertook a grueling 14-hour journey, only to see their team fall 3-0.
The previous record for the longest trip in the Football League was set during the 2009-10 Championship season, with a 832-mile round trip between Newcastle United and Plymouth Argyle.
Despite the grueling travel schedules, Truro’s itinerary pales in comparison to some of the longest-distance league fixtures worldwide. Here’s a look at some of the most extensive away trips in professional football today, with distances calculated in miles as the crow flies between the clubs’ home stadiums.
Given its size, one might expect Chinese football to yield some incredible away trips. However, most teams in the Super League, like the overwhelming majority of China’s 1.4 billion residents, are situated east of the Heihe-Tengchong line, which divides the country.
The longest round trip this season is a comparatively short journey of 1,819 miles between Yunnan Yukun and Changchun Yatai.
With Chile stretching for thousands of miles along South America’s western coast, it’s no surprise that their premier domestic league features a few lengthy journeys, the longest being the round trip between Huachipato and Deportes Iquique, which spans 2,316 miles.
India’s expansive geography means away days can be daunting, although some clubs have chosen to relocate to more central venues during the league season.
The match between NorthEast United FC and Bengaluru FC presents a daunting round trip of 2,582 miles for dedicated fans attempting to attend the match.
Kazakh Premier League (2,606 miles)
The Kazakh top league may not be the most renowned, but due to the sheer size of Kazakhstan, the journey between FC Yelimay and FC Atyrau still ranks among the most extensive in professional football at a staggering 2,606 miles.
This season, Spain has witnessed its longest league trip ever, when Las Palmas faced FC Andorra in LaLiga 2, smashing the prior record quite significantly.
Las Palmas is located on Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, approximately 100 miles from the North African coast, while FC Andorra is nestled within the Pyrenees mountains, just between Spain and France.
Consequently, fans making this trip face a daunting round trip of 2,748 miles, likely involving a ferry, a plane, or possibly even a cable car.
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Most teams in the Russian Premier League are located (at least roughly) in the western part of the vast nation. However, the longest round trip for fans occurs between Zenit St Petersburg and Dynamo Makhachkala, totaling 2,770 miles.
One journey surpasses that distance due to FC Baltika Kaliningrad gaining promotion to the Russian Premier League for the 2025-26 season. Situated in Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian enclave bordered by Poland and Lithuania, their trip to encounter Dynamo Makhachkala results in an astonishing 2,910-mile trek.
Notably, Luch-Energiya Vladivostok also deserves recognition; during their period in the Russian Premier League between 2006 and 2008, they were based in Vladivostok, located in the far east of Russia, prompting long journeys for other teams that had to travel up to 3,985 miles from Moscow.
The record for the longest-distance fixture in Russian professional football was set in 2023, when a second-tier match between Baltika and SKA-Khabarovsk constituted a staggering 4,362-mile round trip.
Brazil’s second-tier Serie B includes a fixture between Amazonas from Manaus in the Amazon rainforest and Criciúma, demanding a 3,810-mile round trip. Nevertheless, the Serie A clash between Fortaleza on Brazil’s north coast and Internacional in southern Rio Grande do Sul requires fans to journey a remarkable 3,990 miles.
In Major League Soccer (MLS), which spans North America, numerous lengthy away trips are commonplace. Teams, although divided into Eastern and Western Conferences, often contend with opponents from the opposite coast during the regular season.
For example, New England Revolution fans must trek from the Northeast to California for matches against LAFC (5,176-mile round trip), LA Galaxy (5,186 miles), and San Jose Earthquakes (5,354 miles).
However, the longest journey occurs between Vancouver Whitecaps and Inter Miami CF, resulting in a whopping 5,564-mile round trip that involves crossing an international border. For those paying attention, Lionel Messi & Co. are moving to Miami Freedom Park in the next season, setting the stage for potentially setting a new record in 2026 if Thomas Müller‘s squad faces off against Messi’s team.
Canadian Premier League (5,574 miles)
As the second-largest country globally, Canada offers an epic journey in its top-tier football, requiring a staggering 5,574-mile round trip between Pacific FC on the west coast and the Halifax Wanderers on the east, taking in the southern border and likely some ferry rides across the Salish Sea.
While “derby” matches typically occur between nearby clubs, the A-League match between Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix starkly deviates from this norm. Perth is situated on the west coast of Australia, while Wellington is on the North Island of New Zealand, resulting in a staggering 6,566-mile round trip over land and sea.
This match is recognized as the longest-distance professional league game in football history, earning the epithet “Distance Derby.”
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Although it isn’t a league match, the Coupe de France deserves an honorable mention, often featuring teams from distant French overseas territories and leading to some of the most outrageous away trips.
The competition is open to all amateur and professional clubs based in France or its 13 overseas territories outside Europe, such as Guadeloupe in the Caribbean or Réunion in the Indian Ocean. This sometimes results in an amateur team in rural France facing exotic opponents from remote Pacific islands thousands of miles away.
Remarkably, the longest distance on record took place in 2014 when Trelissac FC faced Magenta Noumea in the first round. At the time, Trelissac competed in Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of French football, located in a small rural village in Dordogne, France. Astoundingly, Magenta is based in New Caledonia, roughly 750 miles from Australia’s eastern coast.
Thus, Trelissac undertook an astonishing 21,303-mile round trip for the match, which lasted almost 60 hours and included a layover in Japan. They ultimately lost 3-0.