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Shkruar nga Pamfleti
With 48 national teams, 16 stadiums in three different countries and 104 matches in total, it is an impressive and unforgettable experience...
The World Cup is now a reality and thousands of people are traveling to the United States to follow the greatest spectacle of football up close. With 48 national teams, 16 stadiums in three different countries and 104 matches in total, we are talking about an impressive and unforgettable experience.
This year's tournament has set records for both attendance and prize money, making it the most expensive World Cup ever staged. With tickets starting at $60 and going up to $11,000 for the final, the packed stadiums show how much fans have spent, from travel to food and drinks on match days.
But how much does this experience actually cost?
The BBC contacted four groups of fans from different countries who travelled to the US, Mexico and Canada to watch the biggest football event and support their national teams. The main question was: "How much did this trip cost you?"
Passionate Croatian fans
Four men from Croatia, loyal to their national team, have never lost a single match. They are now familiar with the players themselves. Therefore, they could not miss Croatia's participation in the World Cup.
The group organized a 35-day trip, during which they will visit all three match venues and, of course, have secured tickets to attend all of Croatia's appearances.
As they indicated, they managed to secure tickets for $60 each thanks to their registered fan status, but refused to provide details about other expenses.
Shortly after the opening ceremony in Mexico, for which they had booked tickets a year ago without yet knowing where their national team would play, the fans expressed their enthusiasm.
They described a fantastic atmosphere of music, culture and football, inside and outside the stadium, "which made the event seem much bigger than a regular football match."
They booked their other flights five months in advance to follow Croatia, and they plan to visit other areas of the U.S. They tried to save money by choosing cheaper meals and hotels, but they said the trip was totally worth it.
The "local" journalist and childhood friends
A 39-year-old sports journalist and his childhood friends didn't miss the opportunity to watch the games in their home country.
According to them, each lived in a different American state, so they traveled by plane and met in Los Angeles to watch the USA-Paraguay match.
They even reserved premium seats, among the most expensive in the stadium, with the price of a ticket reaching $2,735.
"It's very expensive," LoRé admitted before the match. "But it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so, although with some reluctance, we're giving FIFA a lot of money to be at this match."
They have planned to attend three more matches, with the total budget for travel and tickets coming in at around $10,000. The journalist said he feels “disappointed” by the prices, as many people are excluded from the opportunity to attend football’s biggest event.
He added that, because of his profession, he can justify some of the expenses through taxes, but stressed that: "football has its roots as a working-class sport. Now it has become a billion-dollar game."
However, despite the cost, the group said they had an incredible experience, from the airport to the long lines at security. The chants of the fans, the drums and the four goals of their national team made them forget the amount they had spent.
The limited budget of the Scots
Six friends and devoted supporters of the Scotland national team managed, with a huge dose of luck, to follow their team, which had qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Each of them spent around $1,200, with $400 going to match tickets alone.
They booked flights to New York using discount points before they learned where Scotland would be playing and managed to find budget accommodation. They then secured tickets for the game in Boston against Haiti, describing an electrifying atmosphere among the fans and the largest stadium they had ever seen their team play. The excitement was even greater after Scotland’s victory, although they would have liked to have seen more goals. “We expected fun, hospitality and excitement and we got it all,” they said.
German newlyweds
The young couple from Germany had already planned to spend their honeymoon in the US, as they are both football fans. With $180 tickets for the matches and a total cost of $1,500 for the rest of the trip, they arranged a 10-day stay in the US and a week in Mexico.
Thanks to their membership in the German Football Association's fan association, they secured relatively cheap tickets for the Germany-Curaçao match. Despite security concerns, they said the experience was great, thanks to the people, the atmosphere and the stadium.
According to them, although the prices were high, with even a beer costing more than $19, the overall experience was better than they had expected. “At some point, the exact dollar amount doesn’t matter anymore,” they said. /Adapted from Pamphlet /
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