Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala face away day hell with staggering 8,723-mile round-trip to face newly-promoted Chita next season, who are located near China
ANZI MAKHACHKALA will face the mother of all away days in next season’s Russian top flight.
Chita won the Eastern Second Division to earn promotion to the Premier League.
And they sit on the border with China — a whopping 4,361.4 miles away from Makhachkala.
To put that into context: London to New York is just 3,459 miles, while 388 separate Carlisle and Plymouth, which is considered the longest trip in the English Football League.
Spartak Moscow are Russian champions, but will face massive away day next seasonGetty Images
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Chita is so far to the East of Russia, it is closer to China.
Zenit St. Petersburg’s new stadium is over 4,000 miles away from ChitaGetty Images
There is also a staggering six-hour time difference between the two cities.
The drive from Makhachkala would take a staggering 91 hours — and there are no flights.
Alternatively, there is the option to get a train.
But that would take SIX DAYS.
You could get the three hours and 15 minutes flight St. Petersburg, but then it’s still an eight and a half hour journey, which is shorter than a direct flight from London to New York.
Fans of St. Petersburg sides, Zenit and Dinamo, will have to take nine hour flight o ChitaAlamyAnzhi Makhachkala fans will have long goodbyes at train stations before matches against Chita as they won’t return home for nearly two weeksGetty Images
It’s the same story for almost every city, with a train to Moscow to see three different teams taking a little under four days by train.
In fact, Chita’s ‘local derby’ next season will be against FC Ural Yekaterinburg.
And they are still over 2,800 miles away — or a 58-hour car journey.
While there is a lot of joy in getting promoted, it is likely to prove an expensive year for Chita fans.
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