World Cup win will cost fans £320 million
England fans will spend up to £319 million - or £6,399 each - if the team goes all the way to the World Cup Final on July 10th, according to Virgin Money's authoritative Football Fans' Inflation Index.
Getting through all three Group C games against Slovenia, the United States and Algeria will set England fans back £2,445 in flights, tickets, accommodation, food and a new replica shirt for the tournament with the costs rising to £3,108 for the Round of 16 and then £3,904 for the quarter finals where, on recent experience, the World Cup will end for England.
The costs mount up from the average cost of a flight to South Africa coming in at £1,139 for England fans compared to the average for all World Cup countries of £2,321while tickets for all games on the way to the final add up to £1,094.
Accommodation in three-star hotels, food and drink for all the games adds to the bill with England fans paying the most for replica shirts at £49.99 a time.
The £6,399 total is the cost of following the team in every game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and with up to 50,000 supporters going to South Africa the total spend could be as much as £320 million.
But England fans can take comfort from the fact that they face the third lowest bill among all 32 finalists beaten only by the home nation South Africa and France. The bill for French fans is a handy £6,235 if they go all the way to the Final.
English fans face the lowest bill among the top eight seeds in the World Cup and are only beaten by the French because flights from France to South Africa are cheaper than from the UK - of course home-based South Africans don't have to pay for flights.
Australians face the biggest bills with a total cost of £10,035 in the event of their country winning the World Cup - and spare a thought for North Koreans. Their bill for going all the way to the Final would be £6,908 which would take a North Korean fan on the average annual wage 16.5 years to save for.
Virgin Money's Football Fans' Inflation Index, which has tracked the cost of being a fan in the UK since January 2006, shows the growing pressure on fans' finances - costs for fans have risen 7.2 per cent since January 2009 and by 31.5 per cent compared to when the index launched in January 2006.
Grant Bather, spokesman for Virgin Money, said: "Fans would probably say that £6,399 to see John Terry lift the World Cup would be priceless and definitely worth paying. But with up to 50,000 England fans flying out the costs will certainly mount up.
"Fans need to make sure they get the best deals possible and should aim where possible to keep costs down. A World Cup win will last forever but you don't want the debts to last for ever as well. And even if England go out in the Quarter Finals the cost would still be £3,904."
Virgin Money researchers say the average cost of a four-night stay in Rustenburg where England kick-off against the USA is around £294 making it the cheapest of the World Cup venues. Cape Town where England's second game against Algeria is costs around £400 while the last game against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth will be around £324. The most expensive venue is Pretoria at £435.
At the launch of the Virgin Money Football Fans' Inflation index in January 2006, the match day basket of goods cost £77.95. However the most recent analysis puts the cost at £102.53 - a rise of £24.58. Virgin Money's Football Fans' Prices Index runs every three months and the firm's research team examines the cost of items such as a gallon of petrol, match tickets food, alcohol, train tickets and replica shirts.
Fans can spread the cost of following England - or their local team - by using Virgin Money's 0% for 16 months balance transfer credit card. The card charges a 2.98% fee for transferring balances and the rises to 16.6% at the end of the 0% offer.