There has been a lot of talk about the cost of attending the 2026 World Cup. I've dug out what it cost me to attend the 2014 World Cup in Brazil 🇧🇷, and it breaks down like this:

🎟️ Tickets: Cheapest seats at three group-stage matches at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro: $405 ($135 each, which at the exchange rate at the time works out around £80 per match, pretty decent)

✈️ Flight: LHR-GIG via MAD return, I couldn't find the exact figure, but from memory it was between £700-800 max

🏨 Hotel: 10 nights at absolute peak season. I stayed in the business district at a passable 3-star place rather than Copacabana or Ipanema (photo), and it was c.£1,500, my biggest outlay

So, the entire trip to the other hemisphere and three matches cost me just north of £2,500 plus food, etc., which was not bad at all. Pretty good going for a once-in-a-lifetime ten days.

Beyond the financial side, the great thing was that, being the group stage and every country was still in it, the whole world was there. It was magnificent.