Ben Laing says his family’s World Cup trip will cost about £22,000, but the one thing they will not be buying is England tickets. The Liverpool father is taking Alfie, 12, out of school early for a journey that includes five World Cup games, none of them involving England.
Why the family skipped England tickets
Laing put it plainly: "We just couldn't afford the England tickets but we've got five other World Cup games." That is the heart of it. The trip is not a cheaper second choice, it is a deliberate plan built around the matches they can actually reach.
He also said, "We've actually taken Alfie out of school but it's definitely worth it. It's probably cost £22,000 or so - but it will be a trip of a lifetime for the boys." That is a serious amount of money for a football trip, but it is also a family making a call on what matters to them most.
The schedule they have picked up shows how the itinerary runs around the tournament. England's opening fixture is against Croatia in Dallas on 2026-06-17 20:00:00+00, then comes England vs Ghana on 2026-06-23 20:00:00+00 and Panama vs England on 2026-06-27 21:00:00+00. The family are not going to those England games, but they are still building their trip around the tournament itself.
A family trip built around five games
Alfie said, "I told my mates at school I was coming and they were very jealous." James, his brother, added: "We're so lucky to be going to five games. I'm very excited." That is where the story lands best, on the boys getting a rare trip rather than the adult arithmetic behind it.
Laing and his sons are also Liverpool supporters, and they were on the Kop when Liverpool won the Premier League in 2025. That helps explain the appetite for a big football trip, even if this one comes with a school absence and a bill most fans would never entertain.
The simple fact is that the family wanted the World Cup experience more than they wanted a place at an England match. If that means five games instead of one, they seem more than happy with the trade-off.
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