An England fan from Swindon sacrificed his London flat and slept on an airbed at his brother's home for six months to save £15,000 to watch the World Cup in person in the United States.
Drastic savings plan
Harrison Hatfield, 31, gave up his £1,100 per month two-bed flat share in London last Christmas. He then slept on the floor at his brother Charlie's house during the week and spent weekends at his parents' home rent-free. He also cut back on nights out, drinking, and declined friends' birthday trips to save as much as possible.
In six months, he saved £6,600 on rent and put aside an average of £1,000 per month from his salary. His bonus, paid the day before he flew out, brought his total savings to £15,000.
World Cup expenses
Harrison has already spent $12,000 (£9,061.20) of his £15,000 budget. This includes $1,500 on tickets, $5,000 on flights, $4,500 on accommodation, and $9,000 for spending money and potential additional tickets. He paid $1,500 for tickets to the first three group games and is now buying resale tickets for the knockout stages. He secured cheaper tickets thanks to his 22 caps in the England supporters' travel club.
Harrison, who works for a sports betting company, said: "I started saving in January and moved in with my brother in London. I planned for it and moved out of my old flat at Christmas. I stayed with him during the week and at the weekends I stayed with my parents in Swindon. It was an absolute nightmare to be honest but it saved me £1,100 per month, so that paid for a lot of the spending money. The airbed was not the most comfortable. I saved up as much as I physically could in that period and I cut back on as much I could."
Following England across the US
Harrison is following England around the US from June 1 to August 7, having already travelled through Chicago, Dallas, Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. He said: "As soon as it was announced I made the decision to come. I have always loved the US. When the World Cup was announced it was my two real passions combined - travelling to the US and England football. It was perfect really."
He requested an unpaid sabbatical in January 2025 and paid £1,600 for business-class return flights to New York. "I don't want to come home, I am trying to get married in the next seven weeks so I can stay. It costs to breathe over here to be honest," he said.
Managing costs on the road
Harrison noted that drinks at stadiums are expensive and ticket prices are a major concern. "My brother bought his ticket for the Dallas game for $1,400. I will need to pick and choose my battles now. Hotels are also an absolute nightmare but I am currently in long term rental from a friend."
He started the trip with his brother, who has since returned home. Now he meets friends from America. "You are never really alone when you are following England. I am from Swindon and I saw a Swindon town flag at the last game, you then find you have a lot in common with people. The best moment for me so far was leaving MetLife stadium after a game, as we left we could just hear loads of singing and we just saw hundreds of England fans there singing and chanting."
