How a Danish football team survived camping in the Scottish Highlands
The team spent three days camping and hunting in the Scottish Highlands
- Published
Danish football team FC Midtjylland spent three days in the cold and dark Cairngorms National Park as part of a team building exercise.
Staying on land owned by club owner Anders Holch Povlsen, the team did not stay in luxury and were armed with "very cheap sleeping bags" in temperatures as low as -21C.
Their experience was documented on their YouTube channel and Danish television.
The club's mentality coach, BS Christiansen, said the aim of the wilderness trip was for the players to find out "who we really are".
Armed with only "very, very cheap" sleeping bags, the players had to withstand temperatures as low as -21C
The players spent three days camping at the Glenfeshie Estate near Inverness.
Speaking to 大象传媒 Radio Scotland's Mornings with John Beattie, BS Christiansen said the players knew nothing other than they were in Scotland and "if they scream for help, no one will hear them".
Mr Christiansen said: "I just issued them the minimum of equipment. I bought them a very, very cheap sleeping bag. If I gave them polar equipment they would just be one by one but now everybody had to stick together.
"On the last night, everybody slept in one big group of 32 guys to keep warm.
The team stayed on land owned by club owner Anders Holch Povlsen
Documenting the trip on their YouTube channel, the players were taught to shoot and enjoyed porridge cooked over a fire.
Aral Simsir, a striker for the Danish superliga leaders, felt the pressure when hunting as at one point the group hadn't eaten for 24 hours.
"When I take them out in the wilderness where they can get no help, the only help they can get is from each other," Mr Christiansen said.
He added: "They had to think even though it was under heavy pressure to survive. I said to them 'now you have to survive three days in the Scottish fantastic nature, if you can handle that we have what it takes to win the trophy'.
"They shot a couple of deer, some pheasants and some ducks but they didn't know what happened hour to hour. They know if they don't shoot anything, they will have no food, so that was the consequence."
Mentality coach Mr Christiansen said was inspired to bring the players to Scotland after he fell in love with the country during a training session when he was a soldier in the Danish special forces army in the 1980s.
He said: "It was my first trip to Scotland. We flew over the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean and into the Mull of Kintyre. I fell in love with Scotland to be honest with you."