SITTING in the Dallas Stadium surrounded by fellow England fans just before the Three Lions beat Croatia in their first World Cup tie, Dan Hall and his mates felt a surge of excitement.
But unlike most other die-hard supporters who’d made the 4,700 mile trip, football fanatic Dan, 26, didn’t have to completely blow the budget to see his team play.
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Dan Hall travelled with his friends in America for the World Cup, and spent £4,000 on all the matches Credit: Dan Hall
Daniel, second right, and his pals purchased tickets for England vs Croatia for $500 (£371), England vs Ghana for $500 (£371), and England vs Panama for $450 (£333). Credit: SWNS
Because this year’s trip had been four years in the making, and meticulous planning meant he’d been able do the whole vacation – including tickets to three matches – for £4,000.
As soon as the whistle blew on the final match of the Qatar World Cup in 2022, Dan, from Maidenhead, Berks., and his three school friends signed up to the England Supporters’ Travel Club.
They then spent the next four years attending every England match they could in a desperate bid to rack up enough points to get discounted tickets.
Determined to make their dream happen without breaking the bank, the savvy savers booked Airbnbs in every possible city the England games could potentially be hosted in, before the matches were announced.
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They then cancelled the ones they didn’t need free of charge, meaning they spent five times less for accommodation than other football fans.
Dan, who is spending two weeks travelling the US for the sporting event, bagged Airbnbs with swimming pools for an average of £35 a night and spent a total of £4,074 on his trip.
After watching the World Cup in Qatar together on TV in 2022, Daniel, right, and his friends decided to fly to see the tournament in person Credit: SWNS
Dan, second left, bagged Airbnbs with swimming pools for an average of £35 a night Credit: SWNS
His money-saving hacks saved him an estimated £2,306 on tickets and £1,933 on accommodation – and although he admits the cost of the event was still pricey, he says it has definitely been worth it.
“We decided to go to this World Cup because we’re at the age where we have no responsibilities,” he said.
“You only get these chances a few times in your life.
“The ticket prices were still pretty awful, but we’re having a great time, so no regrets.
“I think what’s really special about the World Cup is that it’s taken me to places that I never would have gone to otherwise.
“I would absolutely have loved to stay for the whole tournament, but unfortunately, life exists outside of travelling and football.”
Dan and his pals looked into how to get tickets through the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) and purchased a membership for £85.
The ESTC is the FA’s official membership scheme for football fans and is the only way to get access to England’s away allocation.
Once you’ve purchased the membership, you get a £5 discount on England home games and earn two caps for every England game you attend.
These caps add up, and the amount you have determines your priority for tickets for major tournaments such as the World Cup, and how much money you pay for tickets.
“We’ve tried to go to every single home game since we signed up, to get enough points to get tickets,” Dan said.
Over the last four years, Dan and his friends attended 14 England games, which put them in the top 10,000 fans, making them eligible for the second most expensive tier of tickets.
Breakdown of Dan’s costs:
TRAVEL
Flight from London to New York: £476
Flight from New York to Dallas – £134
Bus from Dallas to Austin – £37
Flight from Austin to Boston – £202
Train from Boston to Philadelphia – £44
Train from Philadelphia to New York – £12
Flight from New York to London – £353
Total travel costs: £1,258
GAME TICKETS
England vs Croatia: $500 (£371)
England vs Ghana: $500 (£371)
England vs Panama: $450 (£333)
Ticket cost total: £1,186
AIRBNB (cost per person)
One night in New York – £39
Four nights in Dallas – £142
Three nights in Austin – £113
Three nights in Boston – £133
One night in Philadelphia – £38
Three nights in New York – £102
Total cost: £567
SPENDING MONEY
£75 per day
Includes:
Uber to Dallas Stadium – £6 each
Train to Boston Stadium – £60 each
Bus to New York Stadium – £15 each
Total cost: £1,050
TRIP COST IN TOTAL: £4,074
They purchased tickets for England vs Croatia for $500 (£371), England vs Ghana for $500 (£371), and England vs Panama for $450 (£333).
If you do not have a membership to the ESTC, the only other way to get tickets for England games is through resales, where prices are much higher.
“Most people I’ve spoken to who got tickets via resale paid around $1200 or $1500,” Dan said.
Only 4,000 ESTC tickets were allocated for England vs Croatia, but Dan believes there were around 50,000 England fans in the crowd, meaning most spectators will have bought their tickets through resale.
As well as saving money on ticket prices, Dan and his friends each saved £500 on flights by having a stopover in New York, before heading to their first stop, Dallas, where England beat Croatia 4-2, on June 17.
Their London to New York flight cost £476, whilst the New York to Dallas leg of their journey cost £134.
“The Dallas stadium was amazing, I’ve been to 100 football stadiums, and it’s the best I’ve been to,” Dan said.
“A lot of the locals I’ve spoken to weren’t really aware the World Cup was on beforehand, but they’re getting really stuck in now.”
After the game, they got a bus to Austin, Texas, costing £37.
They then flew to Boston for England vs Ghana, on June 23, which cost them £202, and then paid £60 each for a train to the Stadium.
After Boston, they will get the train to Philadelphia, which costs £44, and then a train from Philadelphia to New York, which costs £12.
Finally, their flight home from New York to London cost £353, bringing their total travel costs to £1.258.
In order to avoid crazy Airbnb prices, Dan and his friends booked accommodation before the locations of each match were announced.
Following a pre-draw, which listed four or five potential cities for each game, they booked the cheapest Airbnb in all of those cities that had free cancellation.
Then, once the cities had been announced, Dan cancelled all of the bookings they had made in the wrong cities.
“We booked about 22 places and ended up with six,” he said.
“Everywhere we booked was an average of £35 a night, which I’m really pleased with.”
As prices skyrocketed following the announcement of the host cities, Dan estimates he would have paid at least triple, if not four or five times the price, if he had waited to book.
“We paid £567 each, and I think it probably would have cost us two and a half grand if we’d waited,” he said.
Dan and his friends set themselves a $100 (£75) daily budget for spending money, which includes transport to and from the stadiums, and so far have managed to stick to this.
“We spent a lot of time asking locals which spots won’t break the bank,” he said.
In total, Dan hopes to stick to a £1,050 spending money budget, bringing the total cost for his entire trip to £4,074.
He shares his World Cup adventure on @hallaroundtheglobe.
