Going to a primary school tournament is the dream of many football fans. But for European fans, it hasn’t been so straightforward in recent years.
The last World Cup was held in Western Europe in 2006, so for those who need to avoid expensive plane tickets, a more realistic option has been the European Championships.
In 2021, UEFA experimented with a pan-European tournament, meaning it would have possibly been imaginable that enthusiasts would have had an attack in their home country, but watching multiple matches would have meant flying across the continent. And with attendance restrictions due to COVID-19 rules, getting a ticket price for a game was even trickier than usual.
This makes this summer’s European Championship in Germany the opportunity European football enthusiasts have had in recent years to stay with their team in a primary tournament.
But is Euro 2024 affordable?
A study by global fintech company Conotoxia suggests that English football enthusiasts can watch the Three Lions’ opening match for around $1,400 for two people. This equates to about $100 for tickets purchased through UEFA, $500 for hotels for two nights, $500 for flights. and $250 for food and beverages.
Conotoxia estimates that this would amount to around $3,200 to watch all the matches of the England organisation.
It’s cheap, but it compares very favorably to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which Cooxia says can charge enthusiasts at least $6,000 to watch the matches at the organization level.
And unlike Qatar 2022, Bendys’ enthusiasts can tacticals to watch the tournament on a tighter budget. Flights to major German airports like Frankfurt or Dusseldorf can be a bit expensive, but unlike Qatar, enthusiasts have many other features to get to Germany on a budget, such as taking a bus or exercising from other cities in Germany or even neighboring countries.
Four of the tournament’s venues are in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is reached via Düsseldorf Airport, but enthusiasts on a budget can simply go to Amsterdam and take a three-hour bus to Dortmund or Düsseldorf for around $20 to $25.
For those who drive, petrol is a bit more expensive in Germany than in the UK. But on local public transport public transport is free on the right days for cheap ticket holders, and you can get other cheap tickets for long distances.
Similarly, Germany’s relatively reliable public transport means that enthusiasts don’t want to stay right next to suitable places and, in some cases, may even stay in nearby cities. England’s first place will be in Gelsenkirchen, but you can save a little if you stay near Essen or Bochum.
At the time of writing, the cheapest hotel in Booking. com in Gelsenkirchen for the night of England’s match against Serbia costs $303, but a hotel in Bochum costs $110 and in Essen $101. Hostels and apartments for rent are even cheaper.
This time too there is no desire to stay on the liners, Scottish enthusiasts looking to save money by camping out at Cologne’s fan park for their adaptation off Switzerland might struggle to find reasonable opportunities after the fancamp was cancelled due to bad weather.
Tickets for EURO 2024 are sold out, but fans without tickets can still attend matches in the fan parks of the host cities. UEFA has warned against buying tickets on third-party sites, saying those tickets can be cancelled through UEFA at any time and fans can be denied access or expelled from the stadium.
The costs at those sites are constantly changing and vary wildly depending on the game, with the games of the host Germany being the most expensive, and the games of England and Scotland also being some of the most expensive. With the exception of the opening match between Germany and Scotland, tickets for the organisational matches in Munich seem less expensive than in other host cities.
For enthusiasts who have to spend, UEFA still offers official hospitality packages for matches of the highest level of organization, ranging from $1,360 to $1,630 per year.
And finally, while beer in Qatar was surprisingly expensive, in Germany, a pint of Bitburger Pils beer in stadiums costs $5. 50.
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