Footballers have to wait in line for skiing

There is a bar in Avoriaz that I used to visit regularly during my many stays in the resort. Every so often, I would notice the same man sitting alone in the corner. He never removed his ski jacket, rarely spoke to anyone, and seemed determined not to attract attention – which ironically is what made me notice him!

For several visits, I wondered who he was. Then, one evening, the owner of the bar, whom I had come to know quite well, let me in on the secret.

A Secret on the Slopes

The mysterious figure was a friend of his, and a footballer. Not just any footballer, either, but one of the stars of the French national team. I promised not to reveal his identity and, even now, his name remains a secret.

His club and national team manager had forbidden him from skiing. The risk of injury was simply too great. A broken leg or damaged knee suffered on the slopes could have had enormous consequences for both player and club.

But he had grown up in the mountains and had been skiing since childhood. His love of the sport was too deeply ingrained to be extinguished by a clause in a contract.

Whenever he could, he would quietly slip into Avoriaz, keep a low profile and spend a couple of precious days in the vast Portes du Soleil ski area that stretches across France and Switzerland.

Why Footballers Avoid Ski Holidays

I was reminded of this story from the past because of the excitement surrounding this year’s World Cup and the fact that the current French football ‘stars’ are playing out of their skins, making them one of the favourites to lift the famous trophy.

Several of the world’s top footballers will be looking forward to a long holiday somewhere after the tournament ends – but one thing the majority of them won’t be doing is booking a ski holiday.

There is no FIFA prohibition on skiing or snowboarding, and no Premier League rule that expressly prevents players from taking to the slopes, but throughout professional football, there exists an unwritten understanding that mountains and multimillion-pound athletes are not always an ideal combination.

Modern football clubs invest extraordinary sums in their players. Transfer fees, wages and performance bonuses mean that a leading player represents one of a club’s most valuable assets. The prospect of that asset suffering a serious injury while descending a ski run is one that causes understandable unease among executives and managers.

As a result, many top UK clubs include contractual provisions banning ‘dangerous activities’. Players have to seek – and be granted – permission before participating in pursuits that carry an increased risk of injury. Skiing and snowboarding are near the top of that list.

Ski Restrictions Across Europe

The position elsewhere in Europe is equally intriguing.

In Switzerland, the restrictions are particularly explicit. Standard contractual terms used in Swiss football specifically identify alpine skiing and snowboarding as activities from which players should abstain.

The situation has a certain irony to it. Switzerland is one of the world’s great skiing nations and many of its footballers learned to ski long before they learned the intricacies of a pressing system or a back three.

In Austria, where skiing is woven into the national culture, countless Austrian footballers spent their childhood winters on the slopes. Yet professional contracts and club policies often mean that their participation during their football careers is restricted or, at the very least, carefully managed.

France and Italy tend to adopt a less formal approach. There is no nationwide prohibition, but many top clubs discourage risky activities, and individual contracts can contain provisions.

The Risk Isn’t Worth It

The modern football player is monitored in extraordinary detail. Distances covered in training are measured to the nearest metre, sleep patterns are analysed and nutritional plans are meticulously prepared. In such an environment, voluntarily introducing the possibility of a skiing injury is seen as an unnecessary gamble.

As playing careers are relatively short, and end in the mid-30s age range, most players accept that they have to postpone skiing and snowboarding until retirement. Others joke that they will buy their first pair of skis on the day they announce the end of their playing careers.

Retired Footballers Who Love Skiing

Here are a few examples of former footballers who have taken to the slopes.

Peter Crouch has become one of the more visible examples of a retired footballer enjoying skiing holidays. Since retiring in 2019, he and his wife, Abbey Clancy, have regularly posted photographs from ski trips, particularly to Verbier, Switzerland.

Ashley Cole has also been pictured skiing in Verbier on several occasions since retiring from playing in 2019. In early 2025, he and his wife Sharon joined Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy on a skiing holiday there, with plenty of evidence that the après-ski was being enjoyed as much as the skiing itself.

Gary Lineker is a keen skier and has spoken over the years about holidays in the Alps. He has frequently been associated with Swiss resorts, including Verbier, which has become something of a second home for many affluent British sports and media personalities.

A number of other retired British footballers and pundits are regularly seen on ski holidays. Jamie Redknapp has frequently holidayed in Alpine resorts and spoken about enjoying ski breaks. Frank Lampard has been photographed on family ski holidays in the Alps, and his former England teammate Rio Ferdinand has shared skiing and snow-holiday photographs on social media.

Planning Your Own Ski Holiday

For more info on the destinations mentioned above, and the range of accommodation available through Ski Line, speak directly to the Ski Line experts using the contact details below, or online chat facility. You will find these contact details on the Ski Line website.