England fans must sometimes wish the team went deeper into major tournaments, but research from MoneySuperMarket suggests the cost of success is, well… money.
Yes, for the loyalest of England fans who travel to every game the team plays, a heavier wallet is the silver lining they can look to each time their team is eliminated from a tournament.
Based on accommodation, match tickets, drinks, travel insurance and flights, the research says England fans who stick with the team as long as they stay in a tournament have saved £19,604 over the past four competitions.
England’s 2014 World Cup exit saw the fans save the most. Having spent an estimated £6,040 on average, reaching the final would have more than doubled their spending, with their group stage exit saving them just under £7,000.
Meanwhile the 2010 World Cup defeat to Germany in the last 16 ensured the most loyal fans saved around £5,000 in South Africa, which they could put towards Euro 2012, where a quarter-final defeat on penalties to Italy saved them just over £4,000.
Of course, England not reaching the 2008 European Championships saved fans spending a penny.
MoneySuperMarket’s research also ranked how expensive flights, hotels, travel insurance, match tickets and drinks were from the past four major international football tournaments (South Africa 2010, Poland-Ukraine 2012, Brazil 2014 and France 2016) and compared them to Russia 2018.
The 2018 tournament ranked cheapest for drinks, with a beer reportedly priced at an average of £1.63, while MoneySuperMarket says the cost of a ticket at Russia 2018 is higher than any of the previous four tournaments, at £192.
All figures have been adjusted for inflation.
To find out more about the cost of being a fan at major international tournaments since 2010, click here to read more on MoneySuperMarket’s research.
