An England superfan has put his £350,000 house up for sale to fund a seven-week trip to the World Cup this summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Andy Milne, 62, has become a recognisable face at England men’s and women’s football matches after a picture of him wearing a Three Lions shirt and holding a replica World Cup trophy at Qatar 2022 went viral.
Milne, a retired teacher now living in Thailand, is planning his tenth World Cup following England. His first was Spain 1982, at the age of 19, where he had all of his belongings stolen.
He has since followed England to eight further men’s World Cups, as well as attending the Women’s World Cup in Australia in 2023, where Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses made the final.
Milne, who some have described as a ‘Steve McLaren lookalike’, says he has now put his second home in Northwich, Cheshire, up for sale to fund a trip to this year’s tournament.
‘I definitely want to see the whole tournament,’ Milne told the Mirror. ‘I am going to the US on June 3 and will be there for seven weeks, so it will cost quite a lot of money.
Milne, 62, rose to fame after a picture of him wearing a Three Lions shirt and holding a replica World Cup trophy at Qatar 2022 went viral
Milne’s £350,000 second home in Northwich, Cheshire – which he is putting up for sale to fund his trip to this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico
Milne will be in situ for England’s first game against Croatia on June 17 and is planning a road trip to Elvis Presley’s former home, Graceland, while he is there
‘The last tournament in Qatar was a present to myself; I had been saving for years. We have had a second home for 27 years, so it felt like the right time to cash in.’
Milne will be in situ for England’s first game against Croatia on June 17 and is planning a road trip to Elvis Presley’s former home, Graceland, while he is there.
His dedication means that he is now a ‘top capper’ with the official England supporters’ travel club, enabling him to buy tickets for every England group game in the US, as well as guaranteeing tickets all the way to the final.
But, as is the case with so many fans, Milne is expecting it to be an expensive trip, with FIFA having faced criticism over its ticket pricing strategy for the tournament. On the unofficial secondary market, the cheapest tickets for England and Scotland’s group games are already listed at more than £450.
The former head of science at Grange School, Northwich, added: ‘I always try to do things cheaply if I can. I will couch surf where possible; I am lucky to have friends in Mexico, Dallas and Vancouver. Travel costs are expensive; I bought international flights early because you can change them even if departure times change by 10 minutes.’
Fans accused FIFA of a ‘monumental betrayal’ in December when tickets were put on general sale, ranging from £105 ($140) for the cheapest group games to £6,523 ($8,680) for the final.
