An enthusiastic England supporter has decided to spend his entire £40,000 house deposit on a trip to the World Cup with his father, believing that the Three Lions are destined to “bring it home”.
Jack Goodwin, 34, hailing from Chichester in West Sussex, has already booked accommodations, flights, and tickets for every match that England may play, extending all the way to the final in New Jersey on July 19.
“We’ve been to New York, we’ve seen the World Cup, and now we’re going to watch us bring it home. It’s a straightforward calculation,” he expressed.
Jack has invested around £4,000 for a ticket to the final, referring to the experience as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.
He, along with his unnamed father, shared: “We’ve been through Dallas together.”
“We’ve done Dallas, Boston, New York, arrived in Atlanta… and we’re going all the way to the final to see us win the World Cup.”
Ahead of England’s opening knockout match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Atlanta, Mr. Goodwin stated: “We’re going to crush them 4-0, and playing Mexico at the Azteca this Sunday will be the ultimate dream match.”
Jack Goodwin has pre-booked his hotels, flights, and tickets to every game England can play in until the final (PA)
The Stoke City fan revealed he was feeling the pressure when Panama managed to hold England to a 0-0 draw at half-time during their final group match.
“We’ve arranged everything up to the final – hotels, tickets, all set,” he added.
“We were a bit anxious because we secured all our tickets through the FIFA ballot; had we not topped our group, those tickets would have been void.”
Mr. Goodwin mentioned that his father’s “confidence” led them to book their flights to Atlanta a few weeks ago.
“We reserved our flights a few weeks back, feeling pretty confident. My dad was sure, so I went along with his feelings.”
Regarding how he financed the trip, Mr. Goodwin explained that all tickets were at face value but were still “quite costly”.
“This has been incredibly expensive. I had saved for a house, but I used my entire deposit to treat my dad and myself,” he shared.
England fans Jack Goodwin, 34, (left) and Harrison Killick, 34, in Atlanta (PA)
When asked about the total amount spent, he remarked: “How long is a piece of string? Around £40,000.”
“We secured everything at face value, but that doesn’t mean it was cheap; it was extremely pricey,” he stated.
He added, “Well, I don’t have kids or a partner, so why not? This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Mr. Goodwin criticized the cost of World Cup final tickets, calling it a “joke”.
“For the group matches, I believe it was about 350 dollars. We were located high up in the stands.”
“Now we have category one tickets for the upcoming games, which were priced at 600 dollars at face value.”
“The final ticket, which is absurd, was obtained through the England Supporters Club, with a face value of 8,000 Australian dollars, roughly £4,000.”
He concluded, “We’ve met so many people who tried for ballots and didn’t secure tickets, so we consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to be here.”