Armchair England fans are facing a cash penalty of more than £250 to support the Three Lions at the World Cup. Spiralling inflation plus moving the tournament to the winter means supporters could end up spending £1,200 to enjoy all the England games at home on the TV when taking into account food, drink, heating and a replica team shirt to wear.
That is more than a 20 per cent increase on the cost of watching Gareth Southgate’s team reach the semi-finals in Russia four years ago, according to research by household finances app Nous.co. And those brave fans making the trip to Qatar to see the games live could end up paying more than £7,000 each if England go all the way – a jump of £2,500 on the cost in 2018 for flights, accommodation, tickets and food and drink.
For those watching on TV, the price of beer has almost doubled. An 18-pack of Carling was £7 at Asda in 2018 but is £12 at Sainsbury’s now – an increase of £10 for a few cans each fixture if England play seven games as they did in Russia.
Heating and hot water for the house during the winter matches will cost £141 this year compared to just £25 in the warm summer of 2018. A pizza or takeaway for all Three Lions games will cost £70 compared to £49 and even snacks and nibbles have increased by a third to £21.
A replica shirt now costs £74.75, compared to £64.95 and a fully-filled sticker book has gone up from £773 to £870.
Fans travelling to Qatar are likely to pay £900 for a return flight to Doha, three times the cost of a flight to Moscow in 2018. Accommodation is double at £2,480 for a cheap room for the duration, and a mid-range ticket for all the England games is £2,226 – a rise of almost £350.
Fans choosing to watch at the pub will also be forking out more than four years ago. Beer is more than 10 per cent more and food is almost 20 per cent dearer.The study by Nous.co found that one in five fans worry about the cost of supporting England and Wales, who play their first World Cup matches against Iran and the USA on Monday 21 November. Just one in 10 plan to have their mates round to watch the games.
Consumer champion Greg Marsh, founder and CEO of household finances app Nous.co, said: “Our research shows that inflation and the cost-of-living crisis is having a massive impact on every part of our lives, even simple pleasures like watching England in the World Cup.
“Most experts agree things are going to get much worse before they get better, so everyone needs to do everything they can to save money wherever they can. After all, not many people have pockets as deep as an international footballer.”
